Paint on a summer’s day

Dreaming In Red by Yana Ray

Paint on a summer’s day

with paint can in hand they climbed 

the tree to the window

brother and sister beginning one of their sprees,

whispering in the leaves missioned to keep the outsider away –

body to body brushing with a casual intimate touch  

endless nine-year-old reserves dipping their brushes 

again and again into the thick stolen paint

leaving ugly words written upside down,

in their signature style 

words, dripping blood-red on the new “weird boy’s” window.

“Stay away!”

Sliding down with a bump on grass they looked through

mullioned leaves and laughed at their work

even as their eyes met that frightened face watching them

they would have been shocked at how fearsome they were
how painful their paint