The mockingbird thrums insane tunes
as water soothingly trickles from the neighbor’s fountain.
Classic piano dances with the heat
while Venus nudges Jupiter at dusk.

Our insomnia, aided as fireworks rumble
murky oppressive warmth and laughter
harmonizes with distant turkey gobbling
and bleating goats.

Old Redwood and the hills of distant money
standing guard as the sun sets.
We watch the neighbors move the hood of a car,
shifting from one owner to another.

My anger is insolence unfounded
and my body wrestles with agitation.
Why can’t I just be happy in the moment?

Instead I think about how I must leave you
to tend to responsibilities of social demand.
Make some money, pay the rent, water the plants,
entertain the children.

Uprooting is annoying – treacherous,
like the aging Oak struggling with the drought.

Why can’t I just stay here with you,
close to comfort on the porch
and listen to the evening news?