This summer, I think
will be good, and extra hot
for the lack of shade
the trees provide here.

I am thinking of building
a leash-run for the dog
and yanking the dead morning-glories
out of the gardening trough that wraps
around our porch. My plan

is to serve drinks at night, drink less
in the day, and find some time
to work with children.

I like them because
they are the same everywhere.

Michael Hurley is from Pittsburgh, PA. His work has appeared in or is forthcoming from The Cincinnati Review, Sycamore Review, New Delta Review, The Massachusetts Review, Copper Nickel, Mid-American Review, Prairie Schooner, Alaska Quarterly Review, North American Review, FIELD, Crab Orchard Review, Blackbird, Washington Square Review, and elsewhere.  His chapbook, Wooden Boys, is available from Seven Kitchens Press.