WEBVTT

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South side coffee shop,
Minneapolis, fall 2023.

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The poet in a cafe
over cold coffee.

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A turkey sandwich sits, perched,
stares past the window glass

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onto the intersection, Nicollet
and 37th Street in South

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Minneapolis.

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And, he wonders, did I blink.

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Wonders why he blinks.

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If something is missed.

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Not here.

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Mid blink.

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It's just cliche.

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The poet's body
of work will fail.

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Instead, the green
paint keeps his eyes

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open to buildings over there.

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Were they always so green?

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The poet imagines color,
gray, orange, yellow,

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billows of blue tarp,
maybe scaffold rusted,

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wrapped around an echo.

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Another mouthful.

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He forces a blink.

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A poet returns his gaze.

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Deeper lines than before.

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Coffee colder than it was
time gathered in a cup.

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How long has he been.

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Not right here, but here.

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As his mother rings.

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His phone on silent.

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This poem isn't grief.

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