Afternoon Dives Into An Empty Swimming

Afternoon dives into an empty swimming
pool and says ouch lies there crumpled
on the bottom and waits till 5:30 for gin
and tonic to come and fill things up
again I say I say the evening star is
out and so will I be pretty soon sings
the long dry spell between noon and
six the breath held the pinched
expression forgiven as the hours grope
towards the ladder and the 5 o'clock
shadow just had to find its way in
here eventually into this rambling
syntactical array of time passing
with its bouquet of unopened minutes