The smell of artificial butter
in the hallway and
the burning gasp of vodka
then whiskey then beer
and vodka again
while the cold
in darkness makes my cheeks
stony like coral, weak
like sponges. Memory diverges
starry, t-shirt nights in which
I always
manage to dodge summer thunder
from the back of my bike
the world depopulated
darkened roads
hemmed by motionless
cars, empty unused sidewalks
people sun sleep
the air here smells
like cardboard
boxes
time feels tired
day is to sleep
night to walk
I usually don’t remember
what I smell
but bad popcorn
in a hall like weed
is hard to forget