Kashawn Taylor

for Hoss

How lovely it is to dream awake

with another human being,

to share fantasies

of wilderness & separation

from the smog of society,

of civilization. How connected

our minds must be to want

more than anything to escape

the crack of gunshots slicing night,

the nine-to-five drone of freeways,

& the demand to trade precious time

for currency. Replace the harshness

with bristling trees, birdsong, 

& air so crisp our lungs are reborn.

We’ll sit in old rocking chairs,

sunbathing on our cabin porches

shouting back and forth about sneakers, 

ailments, and the green sweetness of life

while our families scrape knees,

shed teeth, chew grass, & grow

towards the sun.