I’ll come back here one day with
trophies and children and show them
the honey green tea I drank,
the plastic table I sat at
and watched new ice melt
to the live band of the week,
how the percussionist and I
admired cheese vendors and
laughed at toddlers discovering trash,
overwhelmed dogs clutched by
their owners, across from the blade
sharpener who showed me how
to safely wrap my knives, the bike
I rode home on with the ocean
and sun on my neck, knives in my bag,
prodding me in the back.

Max Kerwien is a disabled poet and comedian. Most recently, his chapbook “Whirs, Snaps, Clicks, and Clacks” was published by Bottlecap Press.