climbing up a staircase
to another world
old pianos and new love
toys and trinkets
eyeliner and a garlic bulb
on the bathroom vanity
skylights open
to a northern sky
stars dipping
big and little
in their foreign configuration

my mind is full with
memory and sorrow
and new stories
from old ideas
and harpsichord discordia

augmented fourths for peril
and disbelief

step out onto mass ave
here’s a city i’ve met

you grew beautiful souls
that i loved and do love
and i love that your consonants
felt more like home

tears may fall on the faces
of living statues
reminding you to love them
love each other
for no one is stone