(© 2016)

I awoke this morning to voices on the wind,
Echoes of past,
present,
and future—
Modern times when I was living the year of the cat.

The blonde girl from Finland smiled at me
when I missed my southbound train to Rome;
We were homesick for home,
So she chased away our blues with her northern songs.

She sang like sugar on my tongue.

She sweetened our cappuccino lunch
under an umbrella in the sun
on an alabaster beach,
Turned the day into a weekend of carefree romances,
And danced like an angel in a night
when stars never stop shining.

But our trains were on time.
We waved our last goodbyes,
Never to meet again
Until I awoke this morning to voices on the wind,
Echoes of when the blonde girl from Finland smiled at me.