Cherry Lane

Slou and Me--Starved Rock Lodge, IL, December 2010

It has been exhilarating to answer "Good!" anytime someone asks me how I am/ have been. I have been "Good!" for a solid two months now. I eat up "Good!" with a wooden ladle, mixing it in with the brown sugar and berries. I trot on gravel "Good!" leading to the front door of the library. I type "Good!" on the blinking screen. I respond "Good!" when a humble kid says, "Thanks."

Everything feels put together. Reading about comedy writing on an exercise bike, jalepeno poppers, discussing pumpkins at my desk, getting a letter from an unexpected friend. I band it all together with an orange rubber bracelet, and I feel the spittle of rain, and I think, "Good!"

Things are making sense. I'm beginning something new, and I am a fool! A fool! Giggling like mad at Will Smith's portrayal of Hitch! Thinking about doing things I thought were impossible just a few months ago. Realizing the sincere largeness of everything. Unafraid with the grandest silliest dreams.

The basketball player jumps into the air with full force and slams the ball onto the rim. The teammate scoops it up, places it gently inside. The net expands and retracts. Game. Home: 2. Visitors: 0.

Think no one can read you, but I can.
Well we move into a house down on Cherry Lane,
and watch the world go by,
am I'm missing a page.

I wanna be the one who walks you home,
who walks you home tonight.