Walking home i went down the stairs to the field that leads to my house
when i was reminded of you laughing when we got together that one day in the park
You told us there were 69 stairs-
we laughed at you
and said that can't be right
Why would they have stopped at 69 and not 70?
You said
"I'm telling the truth"
when we got done drumming our souls out
purging some small bit of music we had left in us from the week before-
we climbed the stairs with our drums on our heads laughing about how crazy you were
and how all it took was one beer to get you goin'
but Norma and I knew it had nothing to with the beer
you were just crazy, that's all-
we counted the stairs and surely there were exactly 69 steps up to the lovers that waited
for us at home-
Those were some of the best times-
you, me and Norma in the park
playing together
playing alone
playing something out of tune with the noise someone else was beating out-
Today i walked down those stairs-
it's been a while since we all got together to play-
Like clockwork I counted every step as I descended-
69 steps there was
leading me to the love that was waiting for me at home-
Even though i was on my own- it felt ok
When i got close to the bottom there was 20 or so crickets flying about my feet-
it reminded me of the rhythms that once filled my ears in this space-
I smiled as I was counting-
thinking to myself
How much I miss your laugh...
