Poem 29 October 2015 - Winterreise

I spent my hours today
walking city streets by memory
looking at every face
for a familiar curve
a knowing eye
a crooked smile
a shocking flash of colour
up avenues and down boulevards
snow crusting my eyelashes
my breath erupting
like clouds of mist
through my scarf
Boots crunch through icy slush
while on the street
cars slowly pass each other
in a careful pas de deux
held in time by the metronome
of wipers counting one two one two one two
and horns cry out a mournful
tuneless dirge
without form or structure
only tones of sorrow
reaching no one
As night falls
I light a candle
and walk through the dark alone
as the sidewalks empty
the avenues slowly silence
and streetlights offer islands of respite
from the cold and the dark
Steam rises up
in gouts and sputters
from grates covered in snowy patterns
while in corners and alleys
guttering shadows
and shuddering cardboard boxes
are the only signs of those living rough
trying to keep from catching
the eye of someone in blue
Shop windows dim
doors lock, gates are drawn
and the last holdouts finally
make their way back
to home and hearth
and the city curls in on itself
under its fresh blanket of snow
and sleeps
Under a lamppost
in her own personal spotlight
a young violinist plays her last
sorrowful notes
an adagio for the ghosts of the city
As she quickly packs
and hustles into the night
I turn the corner
and expect to see...
but I never do.





Julie Knispel
29 October 2015