From New York I returned, my balcony
Neither as large nor high as that at the hotel;
The metal railing dusty though I never
Noticed before; the bolted rectangles
That fix the railing in its place appear
Peculiar in this new light of my return.
There I saw new an old friend’s other face
So sadly different in that different place,
Indifferent to simple pleasures which fix
Railings to balconies and make views safe.
The subtleties of different light expose
New aspects always present, overlooked,
As we watched near and far the city on high,
Or gentle clouds against a deep night sky,
But borne out by the history of events
Experienced at once an ignorance
In a new light revisiting new places,
Old friends grow unfamiliar in common spaces.
Both here and there, cigars remain the same:
These moments come, remind me why I came.
KLK
5/31/05
I Dwell In Possibility 