It cooled enough

It's amazing what difference a weather change makes.  Opening the doors and windows to the outside world, even listening to distant traffic noises, helps me feel connected to the world, to consider what's next, and then, only then, what's next again.

It cooled enough

To turn off the artificial air,

Open the windows and doors,

Listen to the outside sounds,

Consider again the birds

In the backyard,

Listen to the distant cars

On the Elgin-O’Hare

Which goes neither

To Elgin

Nor to the airport

Instead it offers

A convenient shortcut

To the doctor’s office

In Hanover Park.

It cooled enough

To consider what’s next,

And then,

What’s next again.