For Zach
—–
Hey, so sorry I missed your call
I got your email with your new address
Nice. Good for you.
You’ll be living near that park we like
the one with the corpses of civil war dead
buried shallow in a wide ditch grave underneath
Just below the bouncy plastic playground
where my kid used to stomp after pigeons
the pipes plumbed through the old bones
All those screeches, kids and squirrels
jumping thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump
down onto the dirt gray mats
I’d lay napping in my apartment, across the street
on a beautiful spring afternoon
I used to live there, I don’t anymore
You lived there too. Moved away. Now you do again
Good for you.
Good for you.
Me, I couldn’t wait to escape the useless noise
I have another million reasons written down
And another million better reasons I’m not going back
Now I’m out here, in the heartland
with cheap living, white bread, and ample cheese
I have absolutely no supermarket worries
So, go ahead and enjoy yourself
send me a postcard, whatever
I’ll see it all online anyway
You know, now that I’m thinking
My daughter was born there
She’s more Brooklyn than you’ll ever be
And when you walk through that beautiful park
and the cheerful neighbors chat happy things
with their wide open arms and deeper smiles
don’t forget
All those tragically dead soldiers are staring up at your feet