When We Were Going to Take the City

Eight Octobers ago, there we were
Sitting on uncomfortable plastic chairs
Toasting with plastic cups
Wearing too much denim
Two bedrooms full of unpacked boxes
A kitchen with a broken fridge
A bathroom with a broken sink
Windows that got stuck halfway open
So that our first winter in the city
Involved us walking around our apartment
Dressed like we were going skiing in Montana

When we were going to take the city
We talked excitedly about things
We got so excited so easily
Sales rack finds got us excited
Good milkshakes got us excited
The fridge being resurrected
By that guy down the hall
Got us excited

When was the last time you felt excited like that?

Eight Octobers ago
We didn't casually wonder
What we would wear for Halloween
We attacked the challenge
And came up with Plan B's
In case we showed up at a party
And somebody else had the same idea

We took trips outside the city
To go apple picking
And came back to make pies
Only to discover that baking a pie
Is not something a person intrinsically knows how to do
So we ate devil dogs instead
And we were really, really happy about that

When we were going to take the city
Money was something we didn't worry about not having
We had floating responsibilities in our heads
Rent, food, utilities
But once those tasks were met
We didn't care how much was left over

I just remember us laughing
I remember us laughing all the time
Looking across the room at each other
And just laughing because how ridiculous
How ridiculous were we?

When we were going to take the city
We weren't sure where we were going to take it
Probably back home with us
To our little suburb
Once we were done
Having our fun

But now we're still here
Eight Octobers later
In different apartments
Forgetting to return phone calls
Forgetting to laugh
Forgetting that you never need more than you need
And we still don't know how to bake a pie

When we were going to take the city
We didn't wonder about when it was going to happen
We just figured it would
And that when it did
Things would be ever better
Than they were at the time

We never thought that the city would take us
That it would take us and never give us back

To ourselves
Or each other

I guess that's how it works though
I guess anything that works
Has to work
Both ways