Wards Corner Passage

Tans are fading on
the young boys’ backs
hunched forward
on blue and white lounge chairs
by an aqua pool
in dense air
under a plexiglass dome
on a winter day.

Above, stone clouds
release the first snow of the year.

Moving east, past
bare branches and vacant storefronts
the old Times Square of the South
one spot on the block
is alive in pink and red
this Saturday before Valentine’s Day
the lingerie and sex-toy store
next to the closed-up sub shop
around the corner from the bar
where five people get shot next week.

I breeze through green lights
glancing in the rear view mirror
thinking of better times
behind, ahead.

© 2012 by Eileen Ridge