Martha Dreitler
FLORAL HAPPENINGS IN OTR

He felt the night's heat come in waves,
Breathed hard, reached for a cigarette-out--
Shoved three bills below the plexiglas window,
Lighted one, rounded, a corner to Vine Street,

Looked at his watch - midnight,
Time to meet Gabriel, three blocks away,
He could see him, he thought, under the window boxes,
At Suder's Art, half-hidden in the flowers and vines.

He was excited, he hurried, he planned to earn
For this errand, the shoes and purse for Remonte,
Six months RX for Grandma Brown, and
The down payment on the Thunderbird he longed for.

The explosion, flash of color, before his eyes,
Sparking pastels brought darkness, stopped his cry.