Of Covalent and Ionic Bonds

The four-wheel drive Geo Tracker bounds off the road.
Inside of the house, sleeping residents dream
of each other, back-floating in pools of gentler hues;
while outside, rooster tails of topsoil—O & A horizons—

corrupt the atmosphere like a flailing Kraken, besmirching
the geraniums & marigolds, charring the power-washed vinyl siding.
And as if in triumph over a legion of lawn ornaments—old ladies bending
over and away—my brother raises his fist and shouts,
“I am Brummett! Ha, Ha!”

***

Head bowed and not daring
to peek, his mother’s hands clasp
—gently, but as firm as our land & sky cling to each other at night—
as if the prayer contained within them

was a bird; once freed,
it might never return.