Always a Noose Attached

It is a presence
Lingering between
The towers and alleys
Of this Northwest giant
An invisible force
Chasing me through a
Gridlock maze
Somehow overpowering
The burning rubber
And dinosaur remains

Following my nose
Like some fox
In a hunt
I allow myself led
To a campus
Littered instead
With flowerbeds
Neon hedges and
Old growth cedar

Here in a circle
Of misplaced sequoia
Titans holding hands
And stretching up
Into a labyrinth of
Golden limbs
I can almost escape
This dogged hunter

Sorry Portland
But for all your finery
Open-mindedness
Quaint coffee shops
Bookstores and
Sex shows
Your city still
Smells like piss