A Good Sense of Style - The Riot Before

On the edge of a curbside cliff

A red tipped cane

A higher pitch

A head canted slightly and straining for sounds of

Oncoming traffic while filtering out

Neighborhood kids / a Hey how have you been

A top 40 song / from an upstairs window

The memory of / dancing all night

The screeching of tires on streets unrelated

The windows of storefronts stand mute

I’ve felt extremities grow numb in the snow

I fought the insurgency then left it alone

My fireworks turned into shorter arms

But I still have my camera

Your favorite films / a good sense of style

Dinner and drinks / dancing all night

A stranger’s sheets / the crushing weight

Can’t find the blueprints start building the top floor

Lay tile, then brick, pour cement

If you’re not busy

We should get coffee

And take a walk down to the James one night

We’ll sit near the water, say nothing, till our heartbeats

Are heard louder than the gathering cars

In the city as the sun comes up

I’ve felt extremities grow numb in the snow

I fought the insurgency then left it alone

I’ve lost a lot of things that I used to own

An autobiography, the shivering cold

But I still have my camera