paulina moved back to the city in november 

carlos moved back before that

(but i didn’t see him till paulina came)

they’re living in excelsior now, 

in an apartment we also saw on craigslist

we had an appointment for a tour

but in the end we couldn’t find any parking so we left

and now paulina and carlos live there 

paulina and i take a walk to mclaren park in the afternoon

i said hopefully we’ll see a hawk 

and i took her to the spot where i sat with kevin and you, 

where kevin said mclaren park reminds him of la 

and it’s true what he says

it reminds me of saturday morning bird sanctuary hikes 

with my dad in griffith park when i was a kid

the spicy brown smell of pine needles 

crunching underfoot

the massive trees overhead shift

the leaves shake and the light shimmers

the shadows rearrange themselves on the picnic tables and the ground

it feels good that paulina is back in the city

i have a friend again, sound advice

a few days ago was daylight savings

so the afternoon already seems like evening

dusky honey light casts long shadows through the park

the fennel grove i walked through in june 

with kevin and you, is brown and dried up now

the licorice smell of the fennel is gone 

instead there’s a murky pond scum smell

like an aquarium or an old bouquet of flowers

we walk over to the garden of forking paths

this time the grass is shorter, dry pale yellow

the wind hisses and whispers through it

the world seems bad, we say as we walk back home

to paulina and carlos’ apartment

unrest in hong kong, they want freedom from china 

police brutality is on the rise

don’t even get me started on our government 

we walk along the sidewalk along other people 

coming from work, going to the dentist, 

picking up chicken for dinner tonight, 

kids walk by in school uniforms 

and the man who owns the market 

nods at me as we pass him outside 

surveying his melons and bananas and tomatoes 

inside hanging are huge piñatas for sale 

fill them yourself for your party 

or we can fill them for a little extra

the shiny silver foil tissue paper kind

many pointed stars

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