damp body parts

i've dreamt of tidal waves

and 

crystal mountain ranges

crashing into shore,

faces frozen

wide open mouths

gaping like drowned fish.

people running for their lives, lost

in their minds.

when i wake 

suburbia reigns.

sun burns through haze.

it's already hot.

the morning seems

somehow,

stolen.

you know that smell.

you know those sounds.

lawns being mowed

endlessly.

gardeners lean on trucks

looking...

i walk to work

statuesque.

eyes forward

like a soldier,

trying not to sway

my hips.

the shade looks nice,

but there's a man blowing tufts of grass

over there.

i roll up my denim jacket sleeves

like a cowboy

and

hold my breath

until

the air

is sweet

again.