when Ernie reported a UFO

we were playing

kickball

in the street one summer night,

before

the sun went down,

when a green streak

of light flashed across the sky.

we yelled and screamed,

and looked at each other

with amazement. did you see

that? oh my God.

it's an invasion.

Ernie, was the first one in

my mother's house

calling the FBI

to report an alien spacecraft

in the sky.

they took his name

and number, and told him

that they'd be back in touch

soon. thank you for calling,

they told him.

we all went back out

to stare up into the now

full sky of stars,

waiting for another space

ship to arrive.

then our mothers called us

in to go to bed.

that summer Ernie and his

family moved.

never to be seen from again.