I had never been there before :: A Poem

I had never been there before.
I watched for snakes, 
you led the way, barefoot, bareheaded in the sun
I wore a scarf, the corn was taller than us
the scent of crushed wild mint
one perfectly placed boulder

The soul is alone
is alone
is alone
is alone

Four or five bee-eaters left the cover of the trees,
wings translucent in the light
we watched them fly over the lake
holding our breath
The soul, the soul

is alone

“Are those fish?” I asked, pointing
You thought yes,
though we only saw the briefest touches of nose to surface
and then those ripples moving out
The mountain peak and mounds of clouds

The soul is alone

In the distance,
the highway
We tried to identify a bird on the opposite shore
and to figure out where exactly we were.
It was hard to picture from the ground

The soul

We walked home
You took my hand.

***

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