I plant my feet upon the asphalt ground
and aim my focus to the west, below
the sloping street, as if I would be found
a decade hence a statue. Standing so
I’m memorizing everything I feel:
the gentle cooling breeze against my face;
the silence and the balance in my heels;
the pain that isn’t present in this place.

I’ve passed the spot a hundred times or more,
the dog beside me relishing a smell,
but never have I understood before
the way it seems as if there were a spell
surrounding and protecting this address,
supporting silence with a soft caress.