Air Thin and Ice Thick

quiet people in a quiet coffee shop
a record player calmly playing records that sound like tea steeping
with my back to the window it suddenly turned night
and the warmth from the pull down espresso machine keeps my cheeks rosy
as winter tip toes its way to toronto
i can picture my mount royal
air thin and ice thick
in back alleys
and on big mountains
but here the park grass is green and crunchy
and i can feel like home so long as the espresso is hot
and the records sweet. two cities. one home that i carry in my chest.
across from a friend who is lustre.
in silence our fingers tap to work and the mason jars at the back of the coffee shop
reflect the light from the dirty paper lanterns that hang on the ceiling
the same kind of lanterns that hung on my ceilings in this era or that
and as i tap i wait to see if my new ceiling will hold memories from the future
with a balcony for lovers
and a skyline for city mice
hidden just enough for the country mouse to feel cushioned in spring
but for now
records, waiting, tip toeing winter
and lustrous nostalgia for the moment i’m in…