A Photo and a Poem

Another "reflection" photo. I took this photograph of the courthouse clock tower reflecting in a pool of water along a side street this Tuesday.

That last hour
caught in a whirlwind
the rumble of past and present
swirled in my head.

Walking the streets of San Francisco
up Telegraph Hill, I think of Sharon.
“Let’s call her,” Nancy encourages,
joining my steps as she reads my mind.
“I want to meet her, we can go for a beer.”
“But it’s been twenty years,” I retort,
as I walked through the cars to my seat.
With a drink in hand, I sit alone,
and watch the towns zoom by,
the train racing toward Seoul.
Why this is my destination, I’m not sure,
except that she has been here too.

Suddenly birds flock to the dogwoods
outside my window.
Breaking into a spring chorus,
thirty minutes before sunrise,
and I find myself safely in bed,
tired from having traveled the world,
my soul bare
and sinuses congested.
-----

This is an attempt to put into a poem (using Bone’s “Three Word Wednesday”) a dream that I had early this morning. I always find it interesting how dreams bring dissimilar people together. I also know that I dream more vividly when my sinuses are congested (thanks to the spring allergy season). Nancy is someone I know here. Although a friend, she not someone I have confided in about past relationships. Sharon was a girlfriend back in the mid-80s. It’s been nearly 20 years since we talked. When we were dating, I once met her in San Francisco and both of us have been to Korea, but at different times.

for more of Sage's attempts at poetry, click here.