the west appears to have won me over

[slinkstarr]

"back from the west country dream"
for x

when i dragged myself, stiff and aching,
down the long ramps and walkways
of the dirty little detroit airport tonight,
i didn't expect a blizzard,
but michigan, she greeted me how she knows best:
the thickness of snow,
the only coat she knows how to stitch.

wasn't quite ready yet for the cold shock of the flatlands here,
not when my blood was still running warm
from the breath of the west coast,
from the feeling of your chin
resting on top of my head,
from the sidewalks that felt familiar
even as i knew i'd never seen them,
from the hills running up and down the cities' arms
like bracelets,
from the orange glint of the sun
coming through the trees in the park
where we sat and ate tomatos,
and all the moments that you grinned at me
and i couldn't help but grin back.

i walked out tonight into a snow tornado
and my head was spinning, and i missed you,
and the feeling of liberation,
and the certainty of tangible touch,
and the shoreline, and the warm breath,
and i sang that song that everyone sings
about travelin'
and how you're always gonna go back.