The Sunbathers
Poem Composed by Ryan Quinn Flanagan
It was summer, along Broadmoor Avenue.
Very hot.
When the sunbathers climbed up on their roof.
These two men of middle age.
Got shirtless and drunk and passed out.
No one noticed until the ambulance arrived.
The men were burnt right through and screaming in pain.
Neighbours gathered on their lawns to gawk and laugh.
Pointing up to the wailing men being gingerly led down a ladder.
The men were so red, even from a distance.
Paramedics trying not to touch their skin.
When the ambulance drove off,
a mob of older kids ran after it, pounding on the sides.
There was nothing left to do after that,
but head back inside and try to stay cool.
Bio of the Poet: Ryan Quinn Flanagan is a Canadian-born author residing in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada with his wife and many mounds of snow. His work can be found both in print and online in such places as: Evergreen Review, The New York Quarterly, Himalaya Diary, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Red Fez, and The Oklahoma Review. He enjoys listening to the blues and cruising down the TransCanada in his big blacked out truck.