THE EUREKIAD
1. home
i did not grow up here
but i have never belonged anywhere else
2. the trees
the redwoods do not flinch when the wind howls
they just keep growing
i want to learn that
3. fog
sometimes i step outside
and the world is gone
for a moment
i get to start over
4. winter
the rain stays for months
like a houseguest who never picks up after themselves
5. why people leave
because their hands are tired
from holding onto a place
that does not always hold back
6. why people stay
because there is nowhere else like this
and nowhere else would feel like enough
7. tourists
they take photos of the old houses
like we are a museum
i want to tell them
we are still alive in here
8. rent
it costs too much to stay
but costs even more to leave
9. when the power goes out
we light candles
we play cards
we listen to the rain
it feels like the old days
before we were born
10. foghorn
in the middle of the night
the lighthouse hums
to the lost
11. you can’t run forever
unless you move to eureka
where the road just stops
12. the sea
it does not care if you are tired
it will keep coming for you
13. every wave
has been here longer than we have
every wave will be here
when we are gone
14. parking lot seagulls
they have never seen the ocean
but they still know who they are
15. the highway
people take it out of town
more often than they take it in
16. the sun
when it finally comes out
we forget every bad thing that has ever happened
17. the mills
once they roared
now they whisper
18. thrift stores
full of things
people couldn’t take when they left
19. fresh paint
on old victorians
trying to pretend nothing is falling apart
20. carson mansion
the most beautiful house in town
and none of us can go inside
21. last call
the bars empty into the street
everyone walking home
through the cold
it feels like a lullaby
22. the dock
wet wood
sea salt
a boat that hasn’t moved in years
23. the sound of rain on a tin roof
a song older than memory
24. seaglass
the ocean breaks things
but sometimes
it makes them beautiful first
25. the mad river
it does not care about your plans
26. barnacles
they cling to rock and ruin
they hold on tighter when the tide pulls away
i respect that
27. the ghosts here
are quiet
but they never leave
28. kramer’s furniture
the neon sign still flickers
long after the store closed
29. the boardwalk at dusk
seagulls fighting over stale fries
the sky burning itself out
30. the pacific is a god
and we are only visitors
31. potholes
the city fixes them just enough
to make you think they tried
32. the diner
where the coffee is strong
and the waitress calls you honey
33. tidepools
a whole world in the space of your palm
34. clamming at sunrise
cold hands
wet boots
the best breakfast you’ve ever had
35. the stars
on the nights the fog stays away
they remind you
how small you are
36. losing cell service in the redwoods
feels like a blessing
37. the gas station at the edge of town
last chance before the void
38. arcata is not eureka
but we don’t hold it against them
39. the mural on f street
bright colors
on a gray town
40. the lumberjack days parade
small-town glory
and chainsaws
41. coffee shops with broken chairs
the best place to write poetry
42. growing up here
means knowing how to drive in the fog
before you know how to parallel park
43. fishing boats
they look tired too
44. low tide smell
sharp enough to wake you up
45. the abandoned church on h street
empty pews
but someone still leaves flowers at the door
46. the wind on the bay
whispers things
i am not meant to understand
47. watching the storm roll in
is better than any movie
48. the same man sits on the same bench every day
watching the world move
like he knows something we don’t
49. the grocery store bulletin board
babysitters
free kittens
a guitar for sale
50. the radio station
sounds better in the rain
51. old road signs
pointing to places
that don’t exist anymore
52. sand in your boots
even though you haven’t been to the beach in weeks
53. when the rain finally stops
you almost miss it
54. the same stray cat on every street
doesn’t need a home
but lets you think he might
55. walking home at midnight
feet on wet pavement
the smell of wood smoke
56. the waves never sleep
so neither do i
57. someone’s wind chimes in the alley
singing to no one
58. watching the ferry lights flicker
reminds me
that there is still a way out
59. the feeling of staying
is heavier than the feeling of leaving
60. the tourists leave in september
and the town becomes ours again
61. sitting on the cliffs
watching the fog roll in
watching the waves erase the shore
watching the world disappear
62. the last payphone in town
still stands on the corner
waiting for someone to need it
63. the harbor
smells like fish and gasoline
like hard work and hunger
64. the library
the warmest place in winter
even if the heater is broken
65. the pawn shop
full of things people never meant to sell
66. barn cats
fat on fish scraps
feral and free
67. main street
shut down for the parade
kids chasing candy in the rain
68. the same old man at the same coffee shop
watching the weather
like it owes him something
69. no one locks their bike
because where would anyone take it?
70. gas station burritos
somehow taste better at midnight
71. the victorians lean a little
but so do we
72. the cannery shut down years ago
but sometimes
you can still smell the fish
73. the fairgrounds
where teenagers fall in love
and funnel cakes taste like childhood
74. the lighthouse at trinidad
watching over everyone
like an old friend
75. rain boots
are more important than dress shoes
76. that one house with christmas lights year-round
believes in joy
even in july
77. the alley behind the bookstore
always smells like coffee and wet leaves
78. the guy with the accordion
still plays
even when no one listens
79. the post office bulletin board
missing cats
free couches
hope and desperation pinned side by side
80. roadkill on the highway
mostly raccoons
sometimes dreams
81. every apartment has a leak
it’s just part of living here
82. the arcade
where kids waste quarters
on dreams they can’t win
83. sometimes the bay shines like glass
but not for long
84. the boardwalk at midnight
where ghosts go for a walk
85. the smell of wet wood
stays in your clothes
stays in your bones
86. the guy selling jewelry on the corner
doesn’t mind if you just stop and talk
87. no one is ever really in a hurry
except when they are
88. the newspaper stand
still carries a paper
but nobody buys one
89. drive too fast on the backroads
and the trees will teach you a lesson
90. old men in flannel shirts
know more about the weather
than any forecast ever will
91. the tidepool creatures
have never heard of the stock market
92. a good raincoat
is worth more than gold
93. nobody honks their horn here
unless it’s really serious
94. the thrift store couch
probably belonged to a poet once
95. the town smells like firewood in october
and like fish in july
96. someone’s lost dog sign
gets replaced every week
97. the same bus driver for twenty years
greets everyone by name
98. if you see someone new
you wonder what they’re running from
99. the redwoods will outlive us all
but they let us stay a little while
100. and still
the ocean keeps moving
the town keeps breathing
the rain keeps falling
and we are still here
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