east to chicago

--

i watch the cars slide down into this concrete tube

some lady is applying cover girl coral red lipstick

some guy is yelling loudly into a cellphone

i'm passing them all in this big metal snake

that covers the land in crisscrossed metal strips

we'll take the L train to union station

we'll flee into the waiting arms of your sister

and everything will be perfectly

'whatever'.

--

we'll escape into the new city

the second city, where everyone blends

i want to play bongos on the street corner

i want to watch you grin at the stoplights

saying 'even the lights changing looks different here;

it's like we're in a bigger version of our town'

i'll say 'we're finally in Chicago. but it's nothing

much.'

--

i'm disappointed by this city i wanted to call home

it's odd because with you, it seemed bigger

i didn't feel half as alone as i do now

but i feel a little more sophisticated, maybe because

i can wear my new clothes and walk a new walk and

no one will notice a single damn thing about me.

and i think it will be really nice to be

ignored.