
In my next life,
I want to live here
in this crazy loud city
where everything feels iconic
and ordinary all at once,
where pavement
steps aside for flowers and
small spots of cool grass,
and trees carry the sound
of musicians and pigeons,
where the ordinary
walk side-by-side
with the out-of-this-world
and I, anonymous,
don’t care about reflections
in buildings made of glass,
where everyone
arrives at the park by noon
and it doesn’t matter
who or what you are,
because you leave soon,
for a few bucks
careen through the underworld,
arrive somewhere else
entirely, like magic,
knowing where you were,
and every place else,
goes on without you.
Photo & Poem ©2023, Jen Payne. #NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month. If you like this poem, you can read similar in my books and zines, available from Three Chairs Publishing on my ETSY SHOP. They come autographed, with gratitude and a small gift.
