plaid shirt

i dreamed i saw father last night it had been so many years he was on the basement stairs in his old plaid shirt.
there you are i had wondered where you were i said smiling
he smiled back and hugged me he never hugged me

it is a funny thing
why she asks turning her head to look at me in that way she did
c'mon now, you know why carly
you always assume that but i rarely have any idea what you are thinking

taxi turns right onto charles past the cafes and bars
past the apartment blocks past the drug stores
past the salvation army delirious the marching band time gone by
past the empty lots why empty billie holiday echoes
past the past remembrances i remembered them before
past the industrial gates down front way
past the baseball parks silent with winter dusts of snow
past the posters for demonstrations we never went to

anyway sam
from high school to now
dangerous daydreams along eglinton to the burger shack
old men telling tall tales
smoking cigarettes cheap thursday pitchers
crawling up apartment stairs but not paying the rent

dufferin gate late bad eating the platter
tim is very drunk kevin at karaoke
jonah says its time to go but is it time jones i don't agree
the bar is so goddamn hot and the air is stale beer smell
i think i want another round anyway because otherwise i would have to stray home why would i want that

taxi left down portland shuttered factories empty schools
they closed ours you know that
no more proms no more cafeteria no more sneaking the smokes in the alley
crystal lying on my bed basement dawns sneaking out at dusk

taxi back onto king
are we going in circles i can't tell
dirty motel memories singing and watching west coast hockey games
they wouldn't kick you out until well past 3
24 hour snacks at the 7-11
walking up bathurst  the oak leaf sub shops drunk guys drunk
sam says another shot but there are no shots

c'mon now lets go again its not over its just done
what does that really mean sam wonders
i have no idea but i still know
know what i mean

sun rises lying down
it is cold naked cold
looking up at posters for bands i don't like
radio crackling willie nelson song but not sure not awake
was that my dad
my dad in his old plaid shirt
i have not seen him for so long