spring hop

july in florida is a mirage of cool.
everything verdant, flowerful, purple and yellow
pods pop along US 98 like a kettle korn explosion
take that as a warning. when you step out
of your air conditioned car onto these tar streets
better have some shoes on, make for the nearest
swinging doors and wipe off the sweat.
rain only makes it steamier and is often served
with a plate of thunder and megavolts.
it is time to get out of the city.

i've so often posted our fights, the way we grew
and tore each other apart and grew some more.
it helped me  work through some tough time without
shredding you into pieces. i think it's only fair
that now you've shed your teen angst skin
i write about how great it is to travel with you
and your girl , how pleased i am to treat you
to sangria at dinner , to buy her a  new
 pair of goggles because i lost hers
and both our spare cigarettes
 back at fanning springs
when we both decided to skip
outta there  due to the gasoline smell
from the boats docking as they come off
the suwanee river and i ain't grudging
those boaters a nice dip but less than
twenty minutes away is a sweet spring where
only kayaks and canoes come in
so let's get on with this
 micro mini vacation from working for a living
get offa this bench where the ants bit
the back of my legs and now both me and grandbaby
have pustules running up our thighs, hers
from home,mine a souveneir
 of a nice place to picnic
but i would wanna come again, however it did
cool us off enough to get back the motel and check into
twin queen bed rooms - one of mine rocks but it's ok i'm
sleeping alone in the other one-where i connected
the wifi and found at least five bar b que
joints within three miles and even the greek place
we settled on served a rack of ribs and also found
out that hart springs and otter springs look pretty sweet
from google earth so we're gonna skip the known
crowds at rainbow spring for the unknown, just north of here.
and we don't have to get up at the crack of dawn
and you know, that's another thing i love
 about travelling with you, you
understand
that mornings off are meant to be savored
not rushing around trying to meet some goddamn
appointment so we hang out a while then go for
 second swim, this time at manatee springs, five
miles down the road, where the current pushes
us faster and the water is colder and clearer
and you can smell the frangipangi blossoms
before they fall into the water like orange
peels from sunset and we swim with our googles
chasing a school of minnows across the shallow
rocks and i reach out to grab one and spot a snake
hanging out on the bottom and i think i've just about
had enough swimming for the day, though
i'm not exactly as frightened of the snake as of
the man with a half orso tatoo in gothic font
loading five blonde haired kids all spring
floates onto a big round inflatable raft.
in the swimming area. no one broke out their guns though
and i see that as positive.


sleepy