Asphalt and sidewalks

All the streets are warm
and the trees alive
with dances that cool
the sun-steeped and their shadows

Love lingers
like this
for a long while

Women wear flowers
so they don’t wilt
with them and with
the soil where no garden grows

Love lingers
like this
for a long while

She’s draped in stripes
that were made to camouflage
but offer no protection
and instead make me want to see more

Love lingers
like this
for a long while

I might say something this time
show her the streets and trees
bring her into my shadow
to show her my sun

Love lingers
like this
for a long while

But the leaves fall
and she is blocked from my view
making me move forward until I fall
eyes blurred to black and white bars against the green

Love lingers
like this
for a long while
but never long enough