Pittsburgh

                                                       

More than the jetlag

there are other things

that need getting used to

 when strangers ask

 you for directions

learn to turn the smile rueful

and announce like them

you may be lost too

it is fall in this country

and the leaves have turned

the colour of heaven

you want to touch them all

and count their veins

the sun is surprisingly warm

through the glass panes

and one of the lilies

placed in a square vase

on the dining table has wilted

in the restroom of a cafe

you run into the man who

will play the cello for

rumbustious numbers later

he asks you to pass the soap

‘first rule, hands need to be

clean before performing,’ and

our smiles collide in the mirror

some days are about the
smell of sameness