heat flow

in this winter cold, this hi-def screen, all there is for company

i can’t stop imagining, i can’t stop wishing, for what i’ve been missing

the block parties, in the open streets, for minneapolis, in the summer heat

eyes open, screens off, masks done and forgotten, like winter coats in closets

restaurant’s cooking, bars rocking, like new year’s eve, but hot and steamy 

evening’s light glowing, in the new leaves, in the crowns of the tall trees

soon a new day, a new year, a new breath, a new belief

please, bring our humanity til it surrounds me

the sweat, the dancing, the sounds of us

of music just pushing, of bodies just moving, every one of us, grooving

see the skyline’s in moonlight, and we are the crowds in the streets tonight

for a new day, for a new year, for a new breath, for a new belief

but now the frigid cold, now the darkness, now the hard days ahead

 now doubt, impatience, nothing’s changing, nothing’s changing, it’s the same thing

now the news, flashing in, a tragic tally

of all the pandemic has taken from us, and buried

yet when i rise, if i keep my head high, work hard, play it smart for us, us

snot running and itching, behind this mask, in this cold air, for us

in my eyes, on my skin, dawn’s light, here it is

glinting off the distant spires, of empty downtown skyscrapers

on this new day, of this new year, with this new breath, a new belief