Night on Dog Beach

By the time I looked up, the beach was littered with dogs
Like a ship from Canine Island had run aground on the reef
Leaving the dog sailors to swim for it themselves
Jesus, where do all these kids come from?
And why?
For what?
What are they getting out of it?

Later that night
Long after the final firecracker had been spent
And the dogs had disappeared into the thickets
And the vodka cherry liqueur, though still singing in my head,
had been drained from its glazed casing
You and I remained
Locked in a lover’s embrace
Quietly
Softly
Still