In the doghouse
next to the old drilling rig,
where oil slurped up
out of the dirt, they drink
the coffee and booze
that she brings him
in a scavenged silver thermos.

The flames are nearing
the cabin in the wild,
where boy joins girl
for a weekend in the rough.
The imagined irises and the roses
merge as the distant smoke
kindles and swoops
like a double helix.
The mechanical bears slink along low
and shaggy, like black puddles,
as revived metal hummingbirds attend
to the day with a frank utterance.

Now inside, they move
beyond coffee and booze,
between bush cruising
and fishing, and beyond
white sheets, to find
the next page of their story.