Connection

brother, sister
I went to find you behind the
bright billboards
folding like blankets around
hard, cold concrete
screaming obscenities
and masking all the atrocities
of a slow and draining war

I know I can sneak a note into the city grate
and it might make its way to you
but tonight I feel love's urgency creep
up inside my throat
a million words bubbling up
so quickly that I need to shout them out

I miss you, I miss you
I tried to tell my stories to a stranger
while sharing a cigarette
but quickly realized there wasn't
much connection left
except for the black tar,
razor tobacco cutting us apart

What about when you feel like
you are drifting in blackened space
with nothing to tie you down?
Sent spiraling like a satellite
orbiting to catch the big picture
but missing all the little things
like packing in the back seat of a station wagon
hanging on to someone's coat while they lead
you through a crowd

I need to crawl under the cardboard refuse
find you waiting with compassion
and laugh until we cry
forgetting about the tin,
electric, wire, clock,
assembly line pushing
us apart.