67 Mixed Messages

Ed Allen

A sample poem from the book

#43: Suzi Drinking Soda on a Hot Day

I wish I had the skill to frame her face:

Lips ringed around an ice-cold Royal Crown,

On days so hot the trained greyhounds won’t chase

Valley Park’s rabbit, so the track shuts down.

End of the summer; Suzi takes the sun,

Sun touches Suzi. Next week every hall

Up in our building will see people run,

Zipping up stairways, meaning now it’s fall.

I love you, Suzi. When you lift that clear

Glass bottle to your lips, and swirl the dark

Raspberry-flavored cola-spiked root beer

Around your mouth—the world’s a water park,

Crowded with swimmers drinking Mountain Dew.

Each bottle, spun, finds north, and points to you.