Four

by Baron Wormser

On Chandler Street in Baltimore a brick house
With a sectioned cement sidewalk, a maple tree,
A privet hedge, a rusting swing set.
I hold my breath but time rushes toward me.

                *

On Chandler Street in Baltimore an old man
Gestures from a porch, his face bleak
With anger. “Goddamn you twice!” he hollers.
We stop our game of step ball, laugh till we shriek.

                *

On Chandler Street in Baltimore the TV
Chirps like an electric cricket through the night.
“Suez Canal,” I hear and wonder how
The earth can spin yet remain upright.

                *

On Chandler Street in Baltimore it rains
To end the world, then ceases. I go outside
And begin to splash in puddles — stomp, splat,
Stomp, splat. My life will not be denied.