My boyhood pocketknife Sits in the bottom of my bedside table My skin is healing But I still feel a little cut I thank God every time I leave Say goodbye to flat land the long stretches of road I forget the peonies but they still bloom in me My old backyard is littered with noise and ***** snow Cold trickles into the lungs Slowly, like it's afraid to let go Each exhale is proof we're alive A cloud of condensation curling away from mouths Small, sleeping dragons in an even smaller city where all the jewels are gone