Baudelaire

by Tinker Greene

Wednesday morning and a smell of fresh
insecticide in the air. Two cops
in shorts on a bench outside Starbucks.
It’s the Fourth of July and my aunt
says she’s flying her flag
indoors so no one can steal it.
Kenny Dorham’s loud checked jacket
on the cover of Midnight
at the Café Bohemia — How
goes it, Kenny? My America:
a swim in the river, then silent
tar beach rooftops arching across
the city as dark fireworks
spill from the end of his horn.