i remember

hot summer nights at the drive-in

like the long defunct Mather Auto Movies

where i saw movies like American Graffiti [1973]

& bruce lee in The Way of the Dragon [1972]

sometimes i'd be bored & asked my parents

if i could go outside & play in the playground

they could keep an eye on me & my brothers 

because the playground was right beneath the screen

& on those hot summer nights we would go to the snack bar

for treats & soda i loved the sound of my sneakers 

crunching the hard gravel of the car lot & the doppler

effect of the soundtrack from each tinny speaker on each car

but it was that time i walked back with my father from the snack bar

when the door was open to the projection booth located smack in the center 

of the drive-in because it was a very hot night & i saw it i swear

the projectionist sat in an oversized over-stuffed la-z-boy recliner

an old man with a pot belly & thick glasses resting on the bridge of his nose

reading a fat paperback while the cartoons were spooling on the projector

& as i gazed inside of the mystery of the movies i knew right then

what i wanted to do with my life