I was walking through the neighborhoods
with the flowering trees and the yards
the apartment buildings and the houses
nestled together on a Spring day
sunny and warm
grey sidewalks inviting
I passed the house with the balcony on the second story
and I smiled
remembering how when I walked passed it last time
there were two persons up there
I saw one of them had a parrot on his shoulder
He smiled at me, and I smiled at him
I knew that it was cool and astonishing
that he had a parrot on his shoulder
and he knew it was cool and astonishing
he had a parrot on his shoulder
I kept walking
I kept that smile
I kept that moment
When I walk there now
I still smile
the smile stays with me
it almost makes my face stiff
like a statue
like my cheeks are made of stone
it's a small smile
that feels
permanent.
