Fifth Avenue Nocturne (1895): Childe Hassam

shooting the s**t with a grey in the pouring rain

i met a grey and we spoke briefly in the rain

it assured me that it was nothing like those fictional characters

that still buzzed in the minds of the “most intelligent species”

that it saw before it

tripping up & falling

blathering and scapegoating

all over this planet

it saw these 

forty-four and two’s

to still be searching for that great big dragon that could be

slayed

by the courageous prince

sword in hand

who then, after saving all the people in the kingdom

(not to mention the sexy princess which was the only thing that propelled him in the first place)

would take his rightful place on the throne

as the

divine

king

of

all

 

the grey assured me that there was more intelligent life elsewhere

and i breathed a sigh of relief

i did mention to him in the same breath however that

“i don’t believe in you either”

and it nodded with a sweet understanding

as if to tell me in its own way

that it too

would not believe a single solitary thing

without solid

die hard

proof

which could never be shaken

 

as the rain continued to beat down upon us

it turned and walked back towards the dark early night noir

i waited

watching it walk until it was out of sight

 

then i opened my backpack and started to look for my umbrella