Hummingbirds

I see the children,
laughing, lounging on a stoop.
A boy drawing on a girls leg,
daring his creativity to go farther.
Pens tracing a flower stem,
each petal drawn, one by one.

A laugh, hair tossed,
lashes flutter like butterflies
lips languishing, then open,
the boy cups her calf.
I am a voyeur among many,
witnessing this coupling
among mere children striving
to grow up too fast.

Small conversation, pushing of shoulders,
laughter again rings true.
Real emotion caught in a perspiring brow.
I see them, nerves a flutter,
hummingbirds,
captured for a moment,
on a stoop.