Summertime

Images flash by like scenes from Mad Hatter’s ride ~ one moment we’re sitting on a bluff overlooking the ocean ~ next moment we’re swimming through a school of silver fish ~ we dry out on a sandy beach and follow the strand toward State Street ~ inline skaters streak by leaving jet trails behind ~ outdoor vendors fill the marketplace ~ selling strawberries the size of pomegranates ~ everyone smiles as they pass by ~ discount dude offers me a deal I can’t refuse ~ I look around but Jim’s disappeared ~ a group of performers, dressed like wolves, are creeping up the street ~ they got silver hair, spiky teeth, pointy finger nails and long coat tails ~ handing out free CD’s by a group called Jezebel ~ one comes up to me licking blood off of her fingers ~ Jim pulls me away ~ and we enter a theater under renovation ~ on stage a woman, wearing a long black dress and work boots, plays Mozart on the violin ~ next, we're sitting on the pier at midnight ~ playing chess ~ drinking wine ~ slamming pieces down and hurling insults each time.