Late July

They closed the bookstore up the street from where I lived
They gutted its housing, kept the barbecue place
They, I don't know who they are
But the bridge fell into the river
I didn't love that bridge, didn't hate it
But I love the river
I prefer the east side of it
Mainly the land close to the water
You get too far, you get too close

I was surprised she had so much to say
In the kitchen, at the party
There are so many songs I remember more
So many books I understand better
Than her and her odd stuttered manner
But it was good to see her, it had to be done

I may never go back again
I could live there tomorrow
I hear sad news from there
I miss the good times
I miss the escalator
Up from where the dead bookstore used to be
To the old gutted restaurant
That hasn't been there since 1991
When the girl said
"He sings about rainbows and dreamers like me"
She was talking about Dio
There's a bridge falling down
A riot going on
And I haven't slept so well
As that night on 43rd Avenue

August 4, 2007