This Neighborhood

This neighborhood. The dog behind us barks in frustration at his fence. Another mutt two streets over answers him. A wrench clanking on the driveway, and the thud of a skateboard, as it moves from sidewalk to street. Three boys on bikes scream in unison as they go no feet, no hands for as long as the bikes will coast. A belch of a tug boat as it rounds the curve of the estuary and the buzz of an atv filled with teenagers in dripping swimsuits. Gilly, the house cat, chatters as a squirrel taunts him from the front tree. Thirty seconds. A snapshot. This neighborhood.