Walk,
call mom:

How are you?
and how is dad?
and
I’m
doing
well.

Around the lake
50 degrees
gloves and hoodie,
baseball cap, too.

Told I wouldn’t need a coat
not ‘til November,
Halloween earliest

Can’t feel my feet
paper thin Converse
Midwest Fall

Find the bench facing Chicago
close my eyes hard

So hard I swear
the Golden Gate Bridge will be there
when I open them

And I open them.

And the lake is still not a bay
and I start to shiver

And I miss you
and tell dad I say hi
and
I
love
you
too.

Flat footfalls home

Around the field
school gym
dining hall and frat quad,
upstairs too.

Not yet Halloween
and I’m shaking in my hoodie

I’m thinking of California
and warm Falls
and
I’m
cold
here.