Garden Party Followed By Walk in the Park

Two bottles of iced tea and a short walk later
I am sitting alone by the pool, my feet in the water

Surrounded by long lawns and Harvard-bound boys in their golf sweaters
And the girls, carbon copies of their mothers in ballet slippers
And white skirts that look like aprons

I am one of them,
But for some reason my feet are bare and below the water
I can see the dirt under my toenails
The mosquito bites on my ankles

There is beer in the bouncy castle, croquet hoops in the grass
And I have eaten far too many miniature cupcakes
So I take a longer walk

This time in the bowels of the park
Where the trees grow untamed
Their long roots touching the muddy water
Where perfectly groomed poodles run off their leashes
Bathed in shadow after shadow

There is a couple kissing in the underbrush where the creek runs into the sewer
Where someone has left half a joint in the ivy

I could be one of them, but for some reason I put on my sandals
And walk away