
Girls in pigtails, ponytails, play jump rope in the street.
Their hair bounces up and down.
Down pouncing with knees like kittens,
Up, reaching for the lukewarm sky.
Underneath the swaying lines of clothes,
Under the sign reading junk
Boys with boney knees and elbows
Throw sticks at the scabby cats in the alley.
Their elfin faces wince in pain each time contact is made.
The neighborhood women hang their ample bodies
Out of their second story windows
Hoping for a glimpse, a scent, a breeze.
Too old for jump rope now.
They, like the flowerboxes in the windowsills
Won't make it through winter.