day 20: evening city

Driving home at night
Brings the shadows darting into the road like cats;
A mailbox, on the right side, in my headlights, looks like a man named Paul walking on the sidewalk, dressed all in white.
They jump out at me.

Roads are too wide here.
Space is still too open,
no matter how close to downtown you live.

I learned today what the differences between
a road,
a street,

an avenue,
a lane,
a boulevard,
a quey,
a mew,
a crescent,
and a place
were.

I want a place where we can sit
in the dark
and look over the valley
without it being Pecker's Point.

I was asked to write from the point of view of a family member,
but no matter how much I understand them,
I couldn't write it about anything but me.
I have less of a gauge on each of them than I thought.

I want a place
for you & me
a boulevard where there is no traffic
and we live on the island in-between,
under the trees.

-Dana Winter