worms

The sunsoaked city bustles with life
Businessmen jog through crosswalks clutching briefcase and folders
Runners slick with sweat push their feet over hard-packed city earth
California orange trees sag ripe with fruit
A small child cries over toppled pistachio & chocolate
Ponytail-blonde in cut-offs sponges suds on a ’78 Volvo
A dog and his boy play catch with a Frisbee in clover
Young couples in love lie listlessly on blankets, dappled by tree-filtered sun
A widow in a wide-brimmed hat kneels to prune her roses

Beneath the cornflower sky
Our skin warmed by the sun’s smile
We have forgotten the heavy clouds
The cold wet air
And the vulnerable bloated worms
On the sidewalk