I hurt myself last night,
indirectly, in the harsh light of a 20 watt shadow
but instead of beating myself up
and seeing people who have wandered
in and out of my life,
their times and happiness running
through my head, I chose to quieten
them all by looking at Google Maps
and the places where my own happiness
briefly
once stood like a monument
in a desert occupied by barking dogs
and rivers
damned up long ago.
Never trust Time
to stand still for you,
not when it can destroy you
by seeing your favourite bar
down 77th Street way changed to
a fast food restaurant,
chicken all the way, nothing on tap,
no cheap
bourbon to wash down the bones;
homes gutted and replaced, old replaced by new
and yet I am still here, having lived past
my own Google Maps update.
Ian D. Hall 2017