About 65 Junes
ago, Marilyn & I
explored the house
under construction
next door, brought
a handful of tiny
hexagonal tiles
to my backyard.
Laurie’s bathroom
floors would be
turquoise & pink
not beige & white
like mine. Among
the pines, we toyed
with our treasure
near a hole we dug
& dug toward China,
imagining we’d be
upside down if we
ever arrived. Maybe
we hid our haul in that
hole. Or, was I caught
& taught to stop
wandering & lifting?
Doubtful, because long
after Marilyn & Laurie
had moved away, I
walked with Arlene
up to the drugstore
& pocketed a miniature
red stapler & a black china
marker – grease pencil –
that peeled to sharpen,
never fearing if exposed
I’d be shot, like Arlene’s
father who told us he
had a bullet in his hip
& showed us his metals.