I put on Ella Fitzgerald and Danced Alone in My Living Room to Her Rendition of Summertime

by Andrea Brown


the trumpet solo cues the wrong season
the blues of the pentatonic scale
pulling my gaze to the gray clouds outside
and the pinpricks of rain on the asphalt
one of these mornings you’re gonna rise up singing
I pick up a leaf and put it in my mouth
fall tastes wrong this year
and you’ll spread your wings and you’ll take to the sky
what I want are cinnamon sticks on the fireplace
           the sound of coffee brewing
           mom humming from the kitchen.
but til that morning, there ain’t nothin’ can harm you
what I have are four blank walls
           a gurgling heater
           a television too small for the stand
           a blanket that is just large enough
                       to wrap myself in completely and wait
                       for all the leaves to collide with the earth
with daddy and mommy standin by
I spread my arms and my fingers are on fire


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