guy on the corner plays drums

and i’m walking

just another day

bass

the walking

this 

could go on forever

all kinds of new rhythms 

together

maybe a bird lands on the tree 

next to me 

and it sings 

all i hear is drums

of course the bassline is my groove

that’s how i know how to move

it’s how i have a jaunt to my step

a bounce

i don’t blink

not against bright lights from cars

sunlight

the sidewalk keeps moving underneath 

until i meet my destination 

chimes across the sky

ripples like a diamond shivering 

could be a cold night

or maybe the air is feeling more ethereal tonight

i look twice 

face impressions come through my imagination 

i inquire of them with my expression

whispers around

and the presence of something else

and the presence of someone else

i feel the breath

but turning 

i see nothing

no face 

no body

guy on the corner drumming

and in another world

in another place

i dance to that beat

my eyes say so 

unblinking 

they challenge within the loudest silence i can muster

then look away 

look away to the smallest pieces of pebble in the sidewalk 

look away to the water dripping into drains

look to the tall buildings

the empty stores

the empty streets

uncanny 

like a noir film

i’m waiting for billowing clouds of fog to roll through

ah, cuz when it does the party starts

haziness covering everything from view

half disappointed with the reality

excited by the possibility 

heart jumps in the chest

speed up the beat 

heart rate

 matching the drummer 

and i’m stationary 

hurricane inside 

in plain view 

so boring

so nondescript 

unassuming 

outside of the periphery of my mind

i can hear a piano

warm chords

its melody’s journey 

trails into paths unseen