The Lengths

The chain link fence divorced two worlds
          the dying St. Augustine under corpulent live oak 
                    the alley that paralleled Bonita Boulevard

where turbid rainwater puddled in potholes
         the taste of sweat on our lips, oppressive air too thick to breathe

the alley alive with hundreds, maybe thousands of mosquitoes
          I watched Jesús walk into the scourge
                    shirtless, eyes closed, arms outstretched

The unwonted lengths one will go to
          to feel anything but the life they are given