it’s hot and miserable out here

an empty suburban playground

the mulch a dusty light brown

bleached by the harsh sun

in fact, everything looks like that

the once vibrant greens and reds

of the slide and swings

are washed away, faded and sickly light

the monky bars are missing two or three bars

the jungle gym is a safety hazard

the swings creek ominously loud,

their foundations shifting with every back and forth

the toys buried deep in the mulch

have long since been replaced and forgotten

the slide has adolescent vandalism

carved into its hard plastic skin

initials in hearts, together forever, harshly crossed out

the grass surrounding the playground

is dead and dry and not grass at all;

they're weeds

an old man used to sit on the rickety bench

he died on that bench

and because no one goes to that ugly dried-out playground

the stench of his body rotting in the angry sun

will remain their forever

the park, once bright and full of life

housed many cookouts and block parties

but now, it is barren

empty and uncomfortably warm

there is no shade in this playground

no trees agreed to grow there

so everything under the sun

burns burns burns