Devon Neal

Used Summer

Summer’s end collects on the pool floor,

the vinyl cover folded and half-submerged

by the wind: sun-faded goggles, strap

pulled and stretched, daggers of lawnmower

grass settling like carpet, popsicle sticks

soaked and softened, a waterlogged

baseball, its threads like fingerprints,

neon diving rings left behind, a stripped

Barbie, arms outstretched, and above,

two deflated ring floats, their skin

slack and drooping, air escaped

from wild summer games that sent

sparkling water into the late-visiting sun.

Devon Neal (he/him) is a Bardstown, KY resident who received a B.A. in Creative Writing from Eastern Kentucky University and an MBA from The University of the Cumberlands. He currently works as a Human Resources Manager in Louisville, KY. His work has been featured in Moss Puppy Magazine, Dead Peasant, Paddler Press, MIDLVLMAG, and others.