poems | a night kitchen

road

Not enough footsteps on the snow to clear a good path —
take the road

One by one the lights go out —
same midnight for everyone.

Home from the parade
the candy they threw
still in my pocket

even in December —
the sun on the back of my neck

no mint for the mocha —
holiday’s on the speakers

midnight —
across the alley
Christmas lights going out

knife in the window display
catches my eye as I pass

after a sleepless night,
half a cloud
then blue

fog dissolving —
dog barks
on the other side of the hill