Poems Niederngasse
 
Jack Conway
Good-bye Buoys and Grills

Summer closes like a clam.
Even the ocean knows.
Waves don’t crash as playfully.
They steal away instead,
like a self-made widow.
Beaches are deserted.
The wind whips across,
barren parking lots,
strewn with broken glass
and cook-out trash.
Flips don't flop,
flags don't flap,
outside cafes are under wraps.
Lawn chairs folded under stairs.
Grills still, no glowing charcoal percolates.
Umbrellas go in cellars
Terry cloth is boxed.
Straw hats stacked
Awnings rolled
Sails furled.
Baseballs lie uncaught.
Even gardens know the score
and bloom no more.
Summer home,
some are not.
Good-bye lemonade days,
lemon moon nights.
Good-bye buoys and grills.



Jack Conway’s recent publications include: RattleThe Antioch Review, The Adirondack Review, The University of Iowa Press, The Peregrine Review, Light,  Ralph, and The Norton Book of Light Verse.  His book of poems, Life Sentences, was published in 2002 by North Country Press. email:  Jack Conway
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