Fire Escape

Ink, acrylic and gouache on watercolor paper.

It’s not enough to know where it is,
You like to be in the cool,
Away from the flame.
Before dawn,
You rub your fat hands around a hot cup here.
Before dusk,
You clip a nice spliff.
As you breathe in spurts,
Weathered shins cross over these steps.

You can see
The Hudson rushing alongside traffic.
You can inhale
Solitude’s hot breathe.
So intimate, we don’t need to kiss.

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