We lived in undulating suburbs:
one brick home to the next
away from the cacophony of
blinking city buses & factory fumes
a mundane routine of chores
& studying, preparing for a future
my mother insisted I have:
safe, confined, stable but
my trips to the city became more frequent:
first, school trips with brown sack lunches
with soggy pb&J sandwiches: Eden Park,
Underground Railroad Museum
the city was colorful, chaotic, never asleep-
both frightening & compelling
I wandered back into the city
with no intent, just a need
to escape the small brick home
I found myself back in:
living with my parents in my 20’s
I took a trolley, wandered Over the Rhine
ordered a Shawarma Wrap from Arnold’s
bought flowers from Findlay market
tossed a coin just outside Fountain Square
I returned home, pansies and violas in hand
the scent and heartbeat of the city
clinging to my clothes like a second skin
& I knew it wouldn’t be long
before I found my way back
Erin Jamieson holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Miami University of Ohio. Her writing has been published in over eighty literary magazines, and her fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her debut novel, Sky of Ashes Land of Dreams, was published by Type Eighteen Books (Nov 2023). Twitter: erin_simmer
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THE CITY KEY 