ideas are like stars

today joseph is sitting alone

with occasional nods to the waitress

she tops off his cup while she's snapping her gum

making her rounds on the lunch shift

counting out coins

he leaves them arranged

in neat lines and circles and arcs

she just stares at the tip that spells out her name and ideas are like stars

and yesterday pedaling down 4th avenue

between the stalls and the bookshops

the sepia tones of a lost afternoon cradled a curio storefront

and inside the air was thick with the past

as the dust settled onto his heart

and here for a moment is every place in the world and ideas are like stars

they fall from the sky

they run round your head

they litter your sleep as they beckon

they'd teach you to fly without wires or thread

they promise if only you'd let them

for the language of longing never had words

so how did you speak from your heart

yet here is a box that swears it has heard that ideas are like stars

tonight joseph stood out in the yard

as debussy played from the kitchen

celestial companions `til mornings first lark

shone overhead and he listened

and who was that shadow there by the gate

who was that there standing guard

it was only loneliness

and loneliness waits

and ideas are like stars

ideas are like stars