Arctic Mist Tent

I'm shivering in my bed
Avoiding eye contact
With the arctic mist tent
Outside my window

Getting coffee in the kitchen
I see a rush of grey feathers
Black eyes, yellow beak
Stagediving on and off my backporch railings

I trundle garbage to the curb
Two immense hares
Mosh pit across the street
Spring is a concert I realize

Like that time in Montreal
Lollapalooza 1994
The mist tent is needed
For the crowds violently alive
At the foot of the stage as sound erupts
Where I thrashed and sang
And drank from water bottles thrown by the singer

Nowadays
I'm like the people at the back
Of Ile Ste-Helene
Looking through a lens
Not strong enough for the heat
Not tough enough for the throng
That needs an arctic mist tent