[Don Schaeffer]

The giants can fight
over the heads of the children
throughout the summer,
their vegetable hearts

driving heavy blood.
Even in sleep
during the cold months,
the weight of the vine

stifles the oak.
We would never see a victor,
the final splintering of dry wood,
splitting of root.

Generations of fast picnics
instantaneous naps in the shade
fragile pastel summer,
puffed fiber conserving heat.