When I Seattle

when I Seattle
I’m knee deep
in space so streaked by Puget creeks
beds so stacked with salmon weak
by weeks end I feel no different
but I get used to that light black flesh
that falls off my back like mount sigh’s sunset
when I seattle
she dresses to impress
like the goddamn Pacific crest
and when she comes thru
man she really comes thru

when I Seattle
my neighbor,
my second best friend
two weeks after I met him
and a week after we committed to fixing my brakes
and 800 dollars after new rotors, pads, and caliper core charges (I never cashed in on)
after shots of tequila
and homemade salsa
went to Thurston County Correction Facility for violation of a restraining order
damn you alex
“how the hell am I supposed to fix my brakes?”
“and what in the hell am I to do when your gal comes on to me?”
funny thing is, first question you asked
through the pane of glass
with your facial hair grown way out till bad ass
was if april had come on to me
and that was when I realized for the first time how important it is…honesty
that moment when i looked back at you and said “yeah”
matter of factly
staring resolutely, “yeah, but no.”
until a smile appeared acutely
pressed through the same goddamn prison windows
and you said, “when I first learned to love,
I never thought I’d build a prison
but then I built a prison and I stay there at night
yeah when I first learned to love
I never thought to build a prison
but then I built a prison and she can’t come inside

when I Seattle
I take I-5 to my 7-4
drinking Batdorf Bronson
as ranier peeks out for all the right reasons
and my tent starts itching until I’m finally sleeping
inside the only stream I ever took a picture of
I saw it, and the algae covered rock, stopped, snapped
I doubted we’d ever find our way back
that path was so construed impassable
the green so thick, trail markers hidden
we made it back, it was hardly worth it
it was heaven

when I Seattle I eat at a diner with rex after church
to this day…four years ago plus
he thanks me still

when I Seattle
I’m on long lake down in Olympia for fourth of july
around a campfire
and everyone is shooting the shit
everyone one has homemade icecream
everyone is letting it drip
like rope swings jutting down embankments
everyone is fossilized
everyone is zeroed on this guy named zach
he’s talking about transformers,
the first one that ever came out
and how its leagues ahead of anything produced previous
“like better than toy story,” I asked
“a little bit” he said
and the night was permanent
permanently etched like finger keys into our hollowed out fossils
so that when dug up, like now
the only note they play is not disingenuous

when I Lauderdale (or Delray Beach for that matter)
the boys dress like they seattle
but once the rain came I knew they never did
because they ran for their cars,
they flicked umbrellas and ran for their cars
they flicked their umbrellas, ran for their cars
and hopped all the puddles like they were nuclear
one thing is true, they never Seattle

but across the street, a couple hand in hand
strolls in the same rainstorm
with eyes for no one else they stroll in the rainstorm
with eyes for nothing else they stroll in the same rainstorm
but in it live, truly
the Lauderdale lovers
they seattle

when I Seattle
I have planks in both my eyes
so I rarely get time
to look
at the specks
i was never commissioned to disinfect,
much less remove
but this for you I do
so that our feet begin to fit our shoes
a man named Travis told me last night
that he only wished to climb atop the moon
to announce for himself
one thing, one question,
one thing, one question
what am I waiting for?

and isn’t that
said like somber
spoken like truth

announced like gospel
arriving like clouds
ushering like kingdom
from a tongue like a sword
the one question we can expect to hear (well, among others)
did you Seattle?

even when knee deep
in space so streaked by Puget creeks
beds so stacked with salmon weak
by week’s end you feel no different
did you get used to that light black flesh
falling off your back like mount sigh’s sunset
did you Seattle?
or did you dress to impress?
and circumspect the base of the Pacific crest
not realizing that when i came thru
I came thru for you