Charles Simic

They tore down the seedy block Of small, poorly-lit shops With their dusty displays Of love bracelets, nose rings, Tarot cards and sticks of incense

Where years ago I saw a young man With blood on his white shirt, Blow soap bubbles on the sidewalk, His face pinched and troubled Save when he filled his cheeks with air

Bearded ancestors, what...

Grandmothers and their caged birds Must be trembling with fear As you climb with heavy steps Stopping at each floor to take a rest.

A monkey dressed in baby clothes Who belonged to an opera singer Once lived here and so did a doctor Who peddled drugs to wealthy customers.

The one who let you feel her breasts Vanished upstairs. The name is not familiar, But the scratches of her nails are. The...

The last customer will stagger out of the door. Cooks will hang their white hats. Chairs will climb on the tables. A broom will take a lazy stroll into a closet.

The waiters will kick off their shoes. The cat will get a whole trout for dinner. The cashier will stop counting receipts, Scratch her ass with a pencil and sigh.

The boss will pour himself another brandy. The mirrors will...

I never run into anyone from the old days. It’s summer and I’m alone in the city. I enter stores, apartment houses, offices And find nothing remotely familiar.

The trees in the park – were they always this big? And the birds – so hidden, so quiet? Where is the bus that passed this way? Where are the greengrocers and hairdressers,

And that schoolhouse with a red...

Where you take a sudden detour, Not knowing why, And are afraid to ask yourself, And when you think you are ready,

You enter a small pet shop, Sidle up to the parrot Waiting for him to say a word, While he turns his head

Studying the young woman With hair fallen over her eyes Who is checking on the hamsters, One of whom she calls Dave.

In that museum,...