i went for a run the other day 
’stead of runnin’ back our past  

i ran on the lakefront 
concrete city beaches  
busted up shoreline rocks 
where raccoons b chillin’ 
waitin’ on hand outs  
from Russian kids 
takin’ selfies with the wildlife  

u ever wanna see some shit 
check out ordinary day in Russia 
on Reddit 
it’s a trip 
they givin’ bears vodka they 
crashin’ they cars they got 
babushkas scrappin’ in the streets 
shits crazy in Russia 
shits crazy in Chicago too 
everythings crazy these days 
‘specially me  
thinkin’ ‘bout u 

swallows actin’ drunk 
swimmin’ overhead 
chasin’ each other ‘round 
like brand new lovers 
stumblin’
out the bar at 2 am 
Halsted Street 
sticky sweet neon night  
not sure whether they gonna 
get some food 
go off & fight 
fuck one ‘nother silly 
or all three  

i ain’t been drinkin’  
i ain’t been doin’ shit 
but writin’ poems  
tryin’ to make heads or tails
out my head 
but ur tail keep comin’ up 

early in the mornin’ 
lil’ birds perchin’ 
outside my window 
shakin’ off hangovers 
chirp chirp chirpin’  
remindin’ me   
get up get out  
sing my songs 

then fly away 
real casual like 

somedays i b thinkin’  
maybe you’ll come chasin’ after me  
thinkin’ maybe we can chase each other  
‘round & ‘round again  
like drunk ass birds 
brand new lovers 
or maybe not  
that’s cool cool cool 

there’s more birds 
in the sky & 
i ain’t drunk  
no more  

Benjamin K Herrington (bkh) / wears many masks & speaks in many voices / looks for hidden messages _ v e r _ w h e r _ / feels incredibly grateful to have had his poetry & prose published by The Prairie Review / La Piccioletta Barca / B O D Y Literature / Granfalloon / Apocalypse Confidential / sculpts stories / paginates poems / runs Lake Michigan shorelines / is working on a novel & seeking gn0s1s."