Sometimes I want to tell
this city
it’s blinded lights
faltering bus lines and shining cars
right where it can shove it
shove off the concrete
back to the lakes
the creeks
even the swamps I grew
through

Back to the benches and tools
rusted at all but the edges

To kiss them
with my fingers
til the rust comes free

To sleep in those
familiar noises
with no AC unit buzzing
just imagining myself
cooler with the rustling leaves

Jacob Hammer has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. His work can be found in See Spot Run Literary Journal, Fourth & Sycamore, Peacock Journal, Anti-Heroin Chic, Zvona i Nari, The Collapsar, The Tishman Review, and has been featured in the Pine River Anthology.