foto by smith
we had a homecoming poetry reading thursday, a poetry reading at another’s goodbye party friday, saturday we had a monthly poetry group afternoon followed by a poetry pot-luck party night. today sunday we go to another poet’s apartment for dinner.
i think lady’s trying to tame me to civil ways using rapidly repeated social engagements – desensitization through social shock. but i don’t believe this particular beast is tame-able. the longer i live, the less civilized i become. and the better i get at hiding it.
feels wrong to be back here in cleveland – but logical, essential. we started both us and our journey here, so it seems correct to end here in rest, reset and re-examination before starting anew in a new state and new city new neighborhood new poetry/art scene new she new me. she’s not the she who left the u.s. last year. nor am me.
i lived in cleveland 29 years, 21 in this very neighborhood where we’re staying. right now, every place we go, i’ve already repeatedly been. this past 14 months has been a constant stream of refreshingly new places, new problems, new vistas, new people. only reason right now to be here is to see i shouldn’t be here. though it is nice to see some old friends… but my friends seem to stay friends just using email, so my physical presence ain’t required. can’t wait to move on so we can start moving on with our lives again. my dream is after a year in chicago, to start traveling again – greece, nepal, thailand.
it’s cold here. thanks to throwing weight away along our backpack way, i’m down to 2 pair black jeans, 6 black enigmatic tee-shirts, 1 pullover, 1 shirt, 2 sweaters, 6 pair sox, 5 handkerchiefs – and i have half of that on right now in a vague attempt to keep warm. we saw a lot of french, spanish, croatian, and moroccan sun in our journey – not used to cleveland cold.
lady’s huddled in bed beneath the covers, refuses to get up and make warm coffee or warm oatmeal. my cooking skills consist of the ability to open a cold pack of cookies, or pour cold milk over cold cereal with cold bananas on it. but i think i’m going to chance it though – be worth the effort for hot coffee. sometimes a man just must take a chance and step up to the stove.
thoughts on society, survival of the fittest – we’re fixing too many of the broken, bringing too many of the lost back.
foto by smith