A Break from Mowing
Lannie Stabile
august is always there, hot mouth on vitreous body
& when its swollen death draws closer,
what’s a boy to do with sweaty, augmenting limbs? He
rides his bike to the local convenience store
on ol’ Lee Road. It is there his quarters find 10
ounces of air conditioning contained in syrup. It is
there he savors every sweet sip from the
bottle, just as his father taught him to do as an
empty child. Drops coat his tortured tongue in vacation,
every cool drip transfers to his burning throat, as he
returns the “money back” lifeline to now cold lips.
