the birds of summer

they passed through the night:

this night,

a September night,

a failed night—

violent, cool,

loud,

unseen, unannounced;

to Mexico,

Miami,

Buenos Aires,

Curitiba,

Santiago,

Rosario,

Porto Alegre

and further.

the birds of summer:

longnecks, roughnecks,

brutes, survivors.

I heard them gliding in the dark—teasing,

mocking, moving.

I heard the great fluttering and

the perfect V.

I heard them get away,

and not much else

beyond that.