I am closer to the sun than I ever remember being
The heat so potent I have to keep my eyes shut
I can only imagine the racing ambulance
I hear blaring its siren
But I still know its below me,
And see it in my mind clearly
I can only imagine the laughing faces
That belong to the bare feet
splashing in the fire hydrant water
But the light still seeps through my shut eyelids
Keeping me aware of its presence and its power
Always allowing me to vividly see what I can only hear
I tap my foot on the melting tar of the rooftop
And I wonder will life always be a struggle
With every tap I have to fight with the sticky tar
so my foot can rise again

The fight not a long or hard one
But always some of the black tar remains

The tar is now covered with white crystalline snow
I can see three tree tops from here as their limbs glow
Children below throw snowballs at unsuspected adults
While adults rush by trying to avoid the urban polar assault
No school! They shout. They laugh,
Their brown faces make those noises
Only a happy brown child can make
Drop and roll and make sweet chocolate angels
in the white blanket of snow
That covers my city street that was so hot not so long ago
It's different this time of year
I close my eyes
But still the light seeps through my shut eyelids
Sunlight reflects off the fresh fallen rise
I feel as though I glow
A brisk breeze blows
Swirling a rainbow of flakes from my rooftop
I'm here to escape
The sticky black tar from summer's pass
That fought me with every step
The fight not a long or hard one
But a little of the black tar always remains
Kept me grounded
Kept me here
But now I can float away,
Into the crisp clean northeastern air
I wipe the snow away with my shoe
The tar shouts from beneath its arctic grave
I'll be back!
I smile, cover its tomb with a fresh coat of frozen raindrops
So will I...
So will I.