Views from the Driveway
A small stretch of space afforded a window on the world
The promise of escape from harmful clutches that lurked inside
Freedom is a bicycle in red or turquoise or deep purple
Grasping banana-shaped handlebars, one circled toward independence
Mastered the initial phases of love-making - visual stimulation - with neighbors, friends, passersby
On steamy sultry days the surface shot off a pungent perfume
Mixing with the scent of sun on young skin and nubile grass clippings
Summer in the suburbs had arrived
Butterfly days called for loose plans and clandestine trips to the private duck pond
To roll down grassy hills and puff on stolen cigarettes
Time answered most important questions
And in the Europe of my mind
Breezeways are still in vogue
Families seek shade beneath kelly green awnings
Girls dare to draw the sun with aluminum foil
We still marvel at the sight of fireflies come dusk
