The Fire Landscape: Poems

Late August

Late August At intermission, when smiling families Flickered into the trees from the edges Of the huge screen at Ranalli’s Drive-In, I rinsed my mouth with whisky and hooted At the teenagers who sipped their soft drinks While happy-face snack foods skipped to the stars. I needed to piss and pay for something Salty for Faye, who wanted to see what Happened to Steve McQueen. In the men’s room, The cinderblocks repeated Suck my dick; The six light bulbs were yellow, one of them Overhead when I leaned down to vomit In the sink, my face jammed beneath the faucet Until some high school boy in tie-dyed shorts Looked so long I ripped my knees, right, then left, Into the middle of his colored crotch. The boy said “Unhhh” and sat. Outside, Faye stood In line for popcorn and fries we carried Past a Plymouth where James Brown was groaning “Hot Pants” as if he were fondling her hips. Our speaker was face down in the gravel. On the screen four hamburgers were dancing Among cheerful cups of Coke. I lifted The damp cord, and the tinny trumpets that Moved their cartoon feet heaved up between us. p82 1FINCKE_pages.qxd 5/21/08 9:31 AM Page 82 ...