At The Strip Mall

They meet at night,
a hodgepodge of young punks,
greasers & hipsters,
adolescents racing
to shed their virginity,
hanging out
under the neon lights
on hot summer nights.

Fast food, rock & roll,
hot rods & loud bikes
image & emotion,
id & ego,
the tug of war
to belong
            &
to break away,
a noxious alchemy
of teenage counter-culture
          fusion.

Wary of the blue knights
of the Galahad squad,
they chill out in back, up
by the railroad tracks,
light up & blow a joint,
smoke shaggy dog hashish,
swill cold beer, pop a pill,
and chase it
            down
with Wild Turkey.

Feisty wards of the American Dream,
            under
the exotic narcotic
extortion of youth,
killing time
           between
twilight & dawn,
childhood & adulthood,
           suffering
from the unbearable heat
         of being cool.