Later April and I walk
to Central Park West,
the parade floats, deflating:
Mighty Mouse with shrunken arms,
Olive Oyl’s huge foot waves in the sky.
April asks me why did I
burn the stuffing.
I tell her I didn’t do it on purpose,
she asks am I sure.
Raggedy Ann falls at the waist.
Kermit dives headfirst.
April says that she likes it better, knowing the truth
about Mom and Dad, that they seem happier now.
Olive Oyl’s other foot falls, deflated.
I say well, you aren’t the one who walked in on Dad and James.
Her face falls. I regret my words.
She says she misses me.
I tell her I’m still here, for her.
We pass people parading home,
hordes of stores sit closed,
streetlights perched like spy cameras,
watching the crowds go,
until April and I are the only ones left
on these abandoned streets.