3 September

in the evening they come to play ball
our kitchen looks over the ball field
we can tell who's playing by the color of their shirts
and we route for one
or the other
depending

that was a good hit he remarks between bites of his supper
so we walk over when dinner is done
a truck drives by and beeps for his team
and then another
a dog runs in the outfield
the pitcher's children eat pizza out of a box
from the pizza place
next to the field

before the game is over
we walk across the street to the beach
because we we have a short attention span
because we don't have a stake on who wins
because we like the beach

this year the islanders won the series
and took pictures with the trophy
all the extra kids got in the picture
half the town too
and I think a dog

the fields will be quiet now of an evening
no more little tractor raking the infield
spinning in concentric circles
smaller and smaller
faster and faster
and faster

just like that
summer's gone