The Rendering

I remember thesummer
we smoked dried bamboo;
found it growing
or dying in the alley,

we spent
afternoons hiding
in the garage
with the caved-in roof

burning Barbie
dolls and GI Joes,
old radios we found
in garbage cans.

That summer,
before we turned
all gray
and steely

we were sparks
and giggles and gone,
matches pinched
between fingers.

.. c. Suzi Q. Smith 2009