These Empty Streets

 

*low howling wind*

*distant barking dog*

*rustling leaves*

My only light
is the cherry
of this half-spent cigarette
and one streetlight
many yards away

Parked in the driveway
of a quiet house
but I’m not going in
I’m staying in
here
where it’s quiet and calm
and dark
like my sense of me

Spend most my time
on lonely loops
paved with the bones
of memories and mistakes
These lonely loops
These quiet streets
they comfort me
with most familiar misery

The call of the cancer stick
is a blanket
a grey tobacco warmth
that smells like
the old farm
the hills up north
the places that brought me forth
and where I never belonged

Ever find yourself
in a crowd
where no one heard you scream?

Ever sung to yourself
a ghostly lullaby
of a faraway distant dream?

I had dreams
they’re like the breeze tonight
Softly singing
of intangible days
and ways
I could’ve been

No blood of mine can touch me

*passing car*

*wind chimes*

*rustling leaves*

This cigarette is almost done
I want another one
but I won’t
I’ve had enough self-pity for tonight
But I’ll be back
I always come back to this
This black kiss
of solitary longing
with only the streets
and the wind to keep me company

Crushing this cigarette butt
The cherry’s out
My only light
is one streetlight
many yards away

*distant barking dog*

*low howling wind*

*rustling leaves*