i finally got around to fixing
the rear derailleur i snapped
off my old trek a year or so ago
that day downhilling tiger mountain
with hoyt. when i bought the bike
12 years ago the dealer told me
it'd be tough enough only for riding
across lawns and i guess he was right.
i fixed it at wright bros. co-op workspace,
puzzled it out bit by bit, mostly guessing,
doing it wrong, disassembling, putting
it back together again, a little better.
good enough to get me to golden gardens
with john berry, where we spoke of
the balance between political aware-
ness and not letting it get you
down to where you can't make art
from a center of joy and affirmation.
we looked at the light washing across
the sky, listened to a lone drummer on
a bench, pedalled to the end and waved
to the 4:45 beginning its eastbound trip...