Fallow

Wait until the day says it's closing
And public is put away
Write by the light of a pay phone
Your list of "I meant to say"

Like "Winter comes too soon"
Or "Radiators hum out of tune"

Out under the Disraeli
With rusty train track ties
We'll carve new streets and sidewalks
A city for small lives

And say that we'll stay for one more year

Wait near the end of September
Wait for some stars to show
Try so hard not to remember
What all empty playgrounds know

That sympathy is cruel
Reluctant jester or simpering fool

But six feet off the highway
Our bare legs stung with wheat
We'll dig a hole and bury
All we could not defeat

And say that we'll stay for one more year

Bend to tie a shoelace
Or bend against your fear
And say that you'll stay for one more year

With so much left to seek
The lease runs out next week