There was a rare purity in that smile
That I saw in the few seconds I had
To locate it; a moment of timeless beauty
That interrupted my modern life.

She walked on to wherever she was bound,
Seemingly unaware of me and my
Enraptured eyes.

For an instant I could have been anywhere,
Any time: returning to the playground
Of my infancy, or entering the arms
Of the angels of the next dawn, or
A million times in between.

*
The city arose from the ashes of war,
A symbol of the hope and idealism
Of what appears through hindsight
To be an innocent time.

Tall buildings, elevated roadways…
It must have been like science fiction
To the millions of children’s eyes
That saw their dreams take form
In millions of tons of concrete.

Forty years on, I came to know the place,
And felt something deep drawing me
Back there again and again. This was
Before I learned to see the harsh outlines
And unyielding grey fabric as soulless;
Before I grew out of my ability
To make up my own mind.

Now I understand that the determination
Of a proud people reinforces every structure
With a wonderfully pure singularity of purpose.

*
In but a few short years I was being crushed
By expectations and emotions. Now, I too
Have arisen, and from here I can see
Everyone I have been, and reflect
The purity of her smile as I recall
All the worlds in which I have lived.

Perhaps she was doing the same.

10/29/2006

Posted on 10/29/2006
Copyright © 2024 Richard Vince