Trafficking in recollections
trading
neon nights for bygone days.
From ceiling lights to humming street signs
sealed records come untied.
Another time far from perfection
close enough
for mapping smiles,
covering miles and chasing laughs
out of throats
and into corner booths.
Grabbing coats, it's back out into night,
sleeves shining tables the moment we go,
then arms entwining. Voices warmed,
we sang together
*"...seemed so brief
but it wasn't / Now
I know I had plenty of time..."* (Weakerthans)
When was it we went out walking,
bundled up through Winnipeg?
Easter Break? Or January, drifting,
chilled
through wind or meltwash?
Calendars defy me now, though
every night recall the time,
the place,
the lights of Your Great City
flashing off your coffee eyes
and through the heavy, falling snowflakes
on a Spring or Winter night.
I'm traffic on chilly sidewalks
trading
CO2 for oxygen.
No cars disturb the late night silence,
shallow breaths or slow footsteps.
And, as I walk against the signal,
late October
snow obscures
street signs, dulling laughs from doors
of the bars
and late night coffee haunts.
Seems so far to my small West Side home.
Heels hitting pavement and face turned to stars,
arms hanging downward, my voice, drowned
mouths words, half-quiet
*"...dusk comes on
and I follow / the exhaust
from memory up to the end..."* (Weakerthans)
Nov 4, 2015
Nov 4, 2015 at 10:12 PM UTC
Trafficking in recollections
trading
neon nights for bygone days.
From ceiling lights to humming street signs
sealed records come untied.
Another time far from perfection
close enough
for mapping smiles,
covering miles and chasing laughs
out of throats
and into corner booths.
Grabbing coats, it's back out into night,
sleeves shining tables the moment we go,
then arms entwining. Voices warmed,
we sang together
*"...seemed so brief
but it wasn't / Now
I know I had plenty of time..."* (Weakerthans)
When was it we went out walking,
bundled up through Winnipeg?
Easter Break? Or January, drifting,
chilled
through wind or meltwash?
Calendars defy me now, though
every night recall the time,
the place,
the lights of Your Great City
flashing off your coffee eyes
and through the heavy, falling snowflakes
on a Spring or Winter night.
I'm traffic on chilly sidewalks
trading
CO2 for oxygen.
No cars disturb the late night silence,
shallow breaths or slow footsteps.
And, as I walk against the signal,
late October
snow obscures
street signs, dulling laughs from doors
of the bars
and late night coffee haunts.
Seems so far to my small West Side home.
Heels hitting pavement and face turned to stars,
arms hanging downward, my voice, drowned
mouths words, half-quiet
*"...dusk comes on
and I follow / the exhaust
from memory up to the end..."* (Weakerthans)
Excerpt(s) Citation:
The Weakerthans. "Civil Twilight." Reunion Tour. Anti-, 2007. Various Formats.
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