Linger On

Persistence is
extended existence
and resistance
All these Altoids
We must be brave
Sunlight cascades
Across glass and stone
facades and flags
And stonewashed
under butt
short shorts
In September
They say
War drums
are beating
Coltrane accompanied
by the gurgle
of drip coffee
The song of
the last cicadas
can be heard
echoed in a few
distant trees
children playing
in the shade below
Grandparents
make the proudest
babysitters