Waiting For The End In New Smyrna Beach, Florida

by Maxine Kumin

At the corner of Lytle
and South Dixie Freeway a pale
young woman, baby on one arm, crooks
in the other a placard that asks
WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY?
while the husband, hearty, even beefy
waves all to COME TO JESUS
and behind them on the grass
two sallow little girls fight
over a ragdoll. From time to time it
rains. They stand foursquare
sheltered in the Lord, pinning car
by car its occupants
en route to surf or Sunday brunch
with eye contact as steadfast as
an egret grazing the canals
who darts and pecks and lunges
and after an eternity
at Lytle and South Dixie
the light changes.