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Caffeine

Les Kay

A palm tree ignites with electric light,

an ornament for the snowbirds who tour

this sogged out land.  Today formed with

weather reports, the chords of a half-

tuned guitar, and a rhythm track of hail

pummeling the aluminum ac cover.

I imagine God in overalls today,

punching in for some overtime

to make the rain that beckons footfalls

out into the wet.  Of course,

my mind is on sex, like a three-chord

melody, the sound of aircraft kissing

asphalt, the jar of landing alive,

if tired, to stumble on unsteady feet.

It’s strange what I’ve learned to miss:

my comings and goings laced to the flicker

of a virtual screen, where I can witness

again the crackle of leaves, the white

of first snow, the itch of autumn alfalfa

against your skin. At last, I march for coffee

and across the street at the Marriot a golden

palm explodes with light above a chlorine

green pool, and I sip my coffee, at home.

Les Kay earned an MFA from the University of Miami , where he was a James Michener fellow and Managing Editor of Mangrove. His poetry has appeared in Stirring, TPQ, and Pearl. He is the founding editor of Ward 6 Review (http://www.ward6review.com) and is currently working on a novel, Pixel Islands.