The Ginger Ale-ers

By Anna Popnikolova

We are baking in the back of

Of the blue pick up truck

Sweat-soaked shirts and sticky thighs

All our sunburnt shoulders pressing

Legs too little for big blue back of the pickup truck

Ginger ale from grass green cans

Salted lips from sunshine sands

Smiling fountains, spitting sugary soda

Green ginger ale tin crushed in our soft hands.

The sun sinks soon

We ginger-alers

Spew sugar fountains to the moon

Our legs grow longer

Overlapping over overlapping noons

On the sandy sides of the

Big blue pickup truck

Sit sticky thighs and sunburnt shoulders

Grass green cans with sugared soda

Ginger ale-ers grow too soon

Sugar fountains to the moon

Freckled faces frowning,

Laughing

Legs too big for the little blue back of the pickup truck.