20 October 2008

Talisman

I had forgotten—

Until my fingers
found the ginko leaf
idly plucked
on the street that for so long
led to home.

On uneven bricks,
I could finally breathe.

::::::

I took a very long walk today. These last few days I have found myself longing to drink in the autumn air as if were a cocktail. These type of days make me acutely aware that I am alive.

I found myself walking in my favorite part of Harvard Square, where the sidewalks are lined with Ginko trees. They are beginning to turn a startling golden yellow. I always pluck a leaf as I walk and I have been finding them everywhere lately- in my coat pocket, pressed between the pages of a Proust novel I have been trying to read with no avail for months, tucked away in vellum envelopes that I had forgotten about. They are a small talisman of sorts, a reminder of the place where I feel at ease, at home.


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