One 100 and 80 Degree Day

woke up
and the city was
a tiny dewdrop
upsidedown on the lip of
a plastic bay chair.

and there was a golf course
in the foreground. Me and the green grasses,
stretching out and licking
the kickerspray for sustenance.
Wwwkkssshhh---Wwksshh---wksh

wait, what?
where is my shirt?
why these drab pants?
Were I sober enough to say so
ye
I knew not where I was
and just wanted to be home.

No shoes either.
I must have passed out on the deck
of this neatly suburban tracthouse

and so I go
stealing shoes I find
by a bench
and a XXL shirt to cover my chest
COCK written there
in magic marker.
are they called 'magic' because unlike so many other things in this world they are permanent?

"hey those are my shoes!"
yells a man.
"here," I say.
"sorry." and stumble barefoot through
backlanes,
my own private labyrinthine Istanbul
remembering images of last night
remembering remembering on the bed
funny how I change depending on who I'm with.
Little Miss Post-Punk Rock.
Anita, Steve, Guy the Guy.
alone I am a prowling hunter

weaving ln's
cr's
dr's
pkwy's
what's the difference?
which one gets me out?
god it's hot

its one of those days in the city
where everyone is
soaking up heat

homeless vets seeking shade
in vaulted-ceilinged
pigeon-shitted
cathedral shades.

Girls in braces texting
bikini-topped and too-big sunglasses
like leggy ants
with big black bug eyes

and me,
writing poetries
in my adled brain
woke up on a golf course
woke up underwater
woke up half naked
and god is it beautiful out
tomorrow I won't wake up at all!

men drive by on their way to work at factories.
fancy shiny cars.
We pass at the crosswalks.
I see my reflection in
revving hoods

my feet sweat
my eyes burn
I am incredibly thirsty
and I don't know where I am
or how I got here
but I have got to turn myself around
and stop living my life this way.


Anyway.
Haul my sorry ass self
down a street with bus stop signs
if its good enough for the buses
its good enough for me.
theres a grocery store
and I have the wisdom to seek
some moisture within

and cheap sandals!
success!
inside, an asian family shops for
summer road trip bargains
the mother eyes me warily
no time for stinky drifters
she is on a tight schedule
7 a.m.- buy road maps
7:15- 7:30- Yellowstone
7:30- 8- Texas
8- 8:05- Take Picture at Grand Canyon for Grand Dad in Kasugai

her baby daughter
who has just learned to walk
gets confused and spins mid-aisle
to come face to face with my knee
she looks up, following me
all the way
up

then hands me the flower she is holding.

Outside again, with a pomegranate juice and a beer
the day the sky and my possibilities all unfold all
bright and blue and endless.