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Smoke chokes the suburban air,
infused with steaks, ribs, and sweat.
Neighbors slurp and a dog drools
over rivers of barbecue that flow down children's arms.
The littlest child falls, sprawls
on the sidewalk with a trembling lip.
Ringing like a sword drawn from its sheath,
his father's laughter cuts the air,
conquers the pain of his bloodied knee.
Ka-clink… another empty beer bottle
on the discarded heap of green glass, now taller than
the brown eyed toddler who races for another cold one,
so Daddy doesn't have to.
Thick fingernails capture his spaghetti arm,
swing the boy around like a half-packed duffle bag.
Gnarled teeth sink home into the meat of his shoulder.
You have to learn, stupid - here, drink this.
Pride, like a sunrise, eclipses the dark of his angry face.
The cold smooth glass finds the boy's tiny lips without a grimace.
That'll put hair on his chest.
The blanket of darkness draws over the neighborhood.
A pot-bellied hearth battles against the steel wind and
coughs its fiery breath high into the night air.
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