a local brewery
next to a small-engine repair shop
a few benches outside

upside down wine barrels for tables
everything wet, cloudy sky
whitening like a pearl

the sun won’t break through
it’s already five o’clock
I sit outside drinking a beer

looking at the straight treetops 
in the windless sky...legions of them
what they must have witnessed

I feel good after the gym
next to other people hanging out
dogs patiently content on cold concrete, spongy air—

when out of nowhere a determined wind 
emerges from the trees
like the ghost of an exiled grizzly bear

wet leaves flip across the parking lot like frogs
following it
a dog’s nose quivers

but it’s not worth lifting its head
people shift uncertainly, talking and smoking
reinforcing their circle

the day picked up a little speed
nudged the hammock of our afternoon
into evening, a slight chill, a ripple

still passing through us
as we rise and fall in the wake
of what has happened

the state flag with the grizzly on it
hangs damp and limp
over the gas station across the street