Warm Afternoon in September

end of the day the line rolls out
the yellow school buses snort hot diesel
into the stuffy afternoon
their windows half-open to dim interiors
their engines booming surges of shifting up and down

carrying the kids who shout out their pent-up
whatever it is they’ve had to hold in all day
Shadows that loom and fade
as the windows ripple by –
a face in profile turned and laughing
a shoulder in a print sleeve pressed against the glass
a hand with fingers curled over the metal window rim

the line of yellow segments kicking up some air
in its rumble down the road
a white paper fluttering out into the street
left behind on the black asphalt

when the last bus in line turns tail
a slant of sun through the low window
of the emergency exit door
falls across the skinny legs of two girls
who sit angled to the aisle in the last row of seats
feet in flip flops facing toe-to-toe

9/11/19
9/16/19