can you find the open for me?
needle-free children, a place to play
before the municipal building
in quick-drying cement, mine is
the bicycle in gold paint. festooned with
bells, sparkling handlebar streamers.

rabid scrawl easily rinsed away. polite
college campuses & state-run universities
their chalk drawings are photographs
nailed to telephone poles.

no one can know the decorative or
utilitarian purposes of the foil-fearing insect.
our cut tires are white planters
trees foiled & bordered in yellow &
aquamarine stone. the flag of my former country.
plants shaped into a giant puppy or kitten

an ostrich, cherry statue, massive pencils,
building blocks, peace signs of christmas lights.
I'm cavalier now with my genetic disorders
my HIV status & history of mental illness.

I'll tell you the real purpose of my trip, &
where I'll be staying. the names of my loved ones,
my educational record, dates of employment
& credit history. my home phone number is public
as my date of birth & mother's maiden name.
wind blown, I walk open from room to room.