Near the Memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln

At the refreshments stand
A boy throws out his hands
As if to feed the starlings
But really he throws nothing
It’s just to watch them jump.
See the people coming
Lumbering over the grass
To squeeze into plastic chairs

Near the memorials to vietnam and lincoln

Three notes, a bugle call
A black man in overalls
Arrives to empty the trash
Hauls it to a metal hatch
A doorway opens up
To the underworld.
The boy throws empty hands
The starlings jump

Near the memorials to vietnam and lincoln