That night,
I couldn’t bear the uncertainty any longer
So I follow my shadow
Through the labyrinth of the
streets
Hiding around the bends
Of the absurd alleyways
In that late hour
There were only a few lost souls
And stray cats pawing through garbage
Feeling like a thief,
I slunk through the
darkness,
Close upon my own shadow
I could hear my own agitated breathing
And the chafing of my skin
As I rubbed my hands
To combat the needles of icy wind…
Then
My steps led to a wretched, unfamiliar
dwelling On one of those narrow alleys
So typical of the city
The stench of urine and excrement
Struck me in the face
I had no idea what I was walking through
In the moonless night,
A faint light filtered
Through the battered shutters
At the windows
Through the cracks
I glimpsed
A miserable candlelit room
The gentle mist gave the scene
An air of unreality
I stood along while in the darkness
Staring at the shabby foreign dwelling
And at my own shadow…