The Cosmic blue from a glowing moon breaks the iron skies inside her bloom
Cold was the jazz of that winter’s night draped within her festive Christmas lights.

Between receipts and wrinkled bank notes
I fumbled for the lighter inside my coat,
Waiting for the beat between each exhale
Asking.
Am I alive?
Or had the cigarette gone stale?

Seeking shelter beneath the dingbat car lots time retreats to its usual spot
Ashes scattered across the seconds I’m in, Waiting for escape but I never seem to find him.

And then

Transactions pass like whispers in the snow,
before the long walk home and before the morning crow
All my dreams in rewind play under my breath
Am I alive? Or am I dead