city of open windows
there’s a campsite along the Mississippi
right near downtown
it’s hidden in the wilderness of my dreams
the beach is sheltered like a cove
there’s plenty of driftwood for fires
the fishing has been plentiful, delicious
every night i watch the river flow past me and fall asleep
in your cool summer breeze
i get so lost in the big thunderclouds growing over your skylines
blown in on your cool summer breeze
you have grown so dank, thick and green
those fat cold drops coming down on schedule
slapping my silent window a.c.
splashing through my open windows all summer long
laying there in your cool summer breeze
wide awake at 3 in the morning, thinking about
how to have my father’s life
now, in this world
better than he had all those years ago
your cool summer breeze makes me think
there’s some huge ocean nearby
blowing onshore every night
giant waves rolling across these great plains
of innocence, optimism, empty store fronts and empty lots
so much room to put down roots and grow
and so many back breaking dead ends that swirl endlessly in dirty river foam
i’m just trying to find my campsite along the river
so i bike down your tree lined avenues in north east
big beautiful trees arching over me at dusk
and i notice all the bungalows like my grandpa’s
with front porches like my grandpa’s
facing streets like my grandpa’s
he never even lived here
but it makes me start searching around for
for sale signs every time i return
praying they don’t say “sold”
before my plan to buy can even form
at least i never have to wonder
because lovers strip each other naked
just inside the open doors of balconies
just inside all those open windows
making sweet love all night
there in the dark, where no one can see
in your cool summer breeze
i’m not the only one to feel you on my skin
city of open windows
when i feel closed up, trapped and sweating
when i’m freezing in the cold dark of an impossible situation
my campsite abandoned
i’ll imagine your cool summer breeze
blowing down all your streets
through all those bungalows
through all those open windows
across all those porches, balconies, dirty sofas and beds
over body and skin
into dreams
heat flow 