04-11-2018, 10:47 PM
Catapedaphobia
your balcony on the fourteenth floor
it's a glorious May morning
of birdsong and sun
I'm out for a cigarette
with my back pressed against
the sliding door
a neighbor leans over his railing
taking it all in:
Mrs. Kitz hobbling to her car
in her jangling jewelry
the little toy dogs
wiggling at the delight
of empty bladders
the pretty little black girl
from the fifth floor
in tiny tooth-white shorts
the crude outline of a jumper
the kids have drawn
in sidewalk chalk
outside the lobby
your balcony on the fourteenth floor
it's a glorious May morning
of birdsong and sun
I'm out for a cigarette
with my back pressed against
the sliding door
a neighbor leans over his railing
taking it all in:
Mrs. Kitz hobbling to her car
in her jangling jewelry
the little toy dogs
wiggling at the delight
of empty bladders
the pretty little black girl
from the fifth floor
in tiny tooth-white shorts
the crude outline of a jumper
the kids have drawn
in sidewalk chalk
outside the lobby