Teenagers kissing in the grass, lips locked.
Burnt cigarette butts, bottle caps, punk rock.
The noises skateboards make. The groans and grunts
of skaters. The high-stakes tricks and stunts.

The grit. The hurt. The neverending quest.
(She strokes his hair. His fingers find her breast.)
The rancid air. The inner-city heat.
Graffiti. Stickers. Sweat. (The salty-sweet

of interlocking tongues.) The sun’s last breath
on pink concrete. (They promise until death…)
The blood. The ruined shoes. The broken decks.
Three stunned pedestrians caught in a hex

of wonderment. The brief eternal high.
(The lovers part, and do not say goodbye.)