No. 6

Spring 2004

I have come from nowhere,
bearing my full baggage of history,
stowing the ancient instruments
that no longer predict the future,
to where rivers part, and morning
replaces midnight and midnight
replaces morning. I do not know
lovers anymore. We said goodbye,
and I live with them in the old world
forever. I greet strangers with loyalty.
Their whims and laughter put me up
for the night. They have waited for me
I hope with jobs. I have crossed
the ocean with valuables, my sweat.
I write carefully on documents that are
in another language so my grandsons
will have the same name as my brothers.
Years from now, a man who resembles me
will stand at an elderberry tree to decide
if to chop it down or give it another season.
Though he will be old, there is not even
a right or a wrong. At least not yet.

Copyright 2004, Paul Dickey

nidus is an online publication supported by the Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh's English Department.