outside of the green lady

the feeling is

the wind 

on an autumn morning 

when you feel the cold

when it’s still kind of warm out 

like the blinking water tower

like the awkward traffic 

the people on the corner 

i give them gatorade 

& sometimes money 

even when it feels wrong 

like the fountains on ward parkway 

dyed blue, for the royals

the walls on 71

spray painted red 

for the chiefs 

even though they lost

and the feeling of 

driving by loose park 

so many trees, 

bright with fall colors 

people scattered

for picnics and frisbee 

and photoshoots 

so i drive to swope park 

i watch the sunset

and wonder

if he’s buried beneath the granite  

or under the orange leaves 

and how the waters so pretty

when it moves with the breeze 

winding and restless

i walk the path 

scratched by thorns

stuck with burrs and dried leaves

it feels like home 

it feels like being here yet far away 

i take it in 

i breathe deep 

i take photos of trees 

and empty pools 

and i drive to blue river 

it seems more right

dirty water 

cigarette butts

the crumbling road

settles by the bridge

where we have fires, 

that burn the day away

burns away the memories 

that are too painful 

the day that was too long 

the life that is too confusing. 

& that’s the feeling 

it’s like a sword fight 

outside of the green lady 

it only stings a little 

when you fight with a friend 

& you’re sipping on gin

it’s like jazz, it feels good 

it doesn’t really resolve

but surrounds us at night 

it feels like life

and i feel alright