summer song
After “spring song” by Lucille Clifton
(on thunder)
Why would you trust anything
that disturbed your little dog’s
loyal heart? Why would you trust
a sound that comes
before a bomb-blasted wall
or roof, or a door slammed
after a fight? How
do you trust a sound
that visits before a wound?
(on urchins)
I can’t remember
if they even have eyes
or a nose, or if every spike
is a combination of both?
They’re the ones
we’ve always been warned
to avoid and because I was
a very good girl, I did.