Someone told me
Spiders are a good omen
This morning
A little brown spider
Nervous

Hurried across my wall
So this will end well
In spite of everything

And I know you like the barefoot sound of thunder
That any minute now will be dancing through the gutters I think of you
Now an old man in a city somewhere
How you’d never come with me
Never trap nature behind a windowpane
The trees are the backs of naked ghosts
Receding into doorways of mountain shadows

Somehow the trail you thought
Would take you to a safe haven
Led you down the street
To some bar and quiet routines
With a glass in your hand and an ear for
Jazz thunder
You know all the greats,
The booms and beats of different clouds
How every shade of grey is a melody

And how in the city
The puddles shine and the sky is paved
So turning the world upside down
Would change nothing.