assignment

the assignment was to walk my neighborhood

and take 5 pictures. just 5.

this is my girlfriend's bike. her last bike got

crushed on the summer solstice, along with

the baby seat, while it was locked to another

'no parking' sign outside our house. coming

home to see the bike mangled under someone's

minivan, and the baby seat too, made me think

we should leave town.

i walk under this underpass every day,

but i've never noticed this sign before.

what does it mean?

i love the way you can be in any little podunk corner

of town and a train track makes the space instantly

urban. the kids honor it as urban with their paint.

if we leave town, i will miss the co-op, and the little

juice stand in front of it, even if it takes a while to

get your juice sometimes because the girl walks away

and picks the ingredients from a garden down the

street to make your juice.

i think if we leave i will miss the ease

with which things grow here.