Everyday Today

Longing to breathe in perpetuity
What tomorrow will betray
I hold onto this moment
My everyday today

Drubbing other conversations
A band of students seize the day
Their crescendo of laughter
Unfettered, unrestrained

A guide’s green umbrella
Falsely dispersing tales of rain
The herd behind him flocking
Toward what history parlays

The phone frenzy is contagious
Though I aim to stay engaged
While paradoxically clicking
On this standout landmark stage

Impeccably well-dressed men
Rush past the enchanting scene
Bopping heads of children
On chariots of ruby and citrine

Church bells in the distance
Signal the perfect time of day
While pigeons peck at nothing
Hunger hoping to allay

Yesterday I’d have been blind
To the art she has concealed
Though today I am crushed
By her reticence to reveal

An older couple makes good
On their ever-ebbing days
Absorbing every instant
In deep-seated praise

How many buried truths
Or hearts have gone astray
What memories lie asleep
Beyond the walls of this cafe

Caffè Gilli, Florence
February 22, 2023