for Pete’s sake

a very chilly Chicago early morning in March                                                      
walking the windy lakefront sidewalk
numb
with a hangover
but a bit of cash in my pocket

later,sitting on a stool
by the window
in a coffee shop
watching the cars & pedestrians pass
all of them in a hurry
to get to work

my neurons firing frantically
in a frenzy of fatigue,
& me
so goddamned glad
that

I am on vacation