Route 7 Review | Page 15

Roofs By Joe Betz Baked red or painted. We sat on top Of many houses and said great things About the way the sun sets and saw Cats eating birds out of the tree. Out of The tree all day. And we were sad For a little bit and then the subject Changed. Today the gray clouds Make everything look like socks, Like a bucket of water in the shade. The pranks are never really pranks. A boy watered flowers and we called Out his name. His name was not Robert. But something like Robert and he stopped Watering and sat by us and was sad when The cats ate birds from the tree, but we Were on the roof and no one looked at us Looking at the sun. At the sun all day. The pranks are never really pranks. Joe Betz is an Assistant Professor of English at Ivy Tech Community College. He lives in Bloomington, IN with his wife and daughter. Other poems appear in journals such as Hayden’s Ferry Review, Natural Bridge, and Michigan Quarterly Review.