200 26th Street

Yorke Downs Apartments in Midtown Circa 1989

Building C, Apartment 110

Life is full of chances
And some of the most random
Turn out to be the most important
At least if you remember
Who you were
And what you are.

I am not the same person
That I was then
And my life has veered off the track
That so many have crossed.

I do not know why this is
But I know that if I had not
I might still be sleeping
And never wake up.

I was alone in the world
And far away
From everything I knew
And everyone I loved.

But for some reason
Somebody called me
Before someone else
And I moved here
Instead of there.

It was a strange new world
But it was full of promise
A promise I could not see
Because I did not know how.

It was spring time
And the air was hot and humid
As I lugged my suitcase inside
And slept on a futon.

I talked to the girl upstairs
I think her name was Liz
Having come here for a job
The same way I did.

We went to a concert
And she said
I should come over for dinner sometime
But being a fool
I didn’t pursue her
And clung to what I had.

Many doors have slid open and shut
And many hot summers have passed
But I still remember moving out
And saying goodbye.

Years and decades have passed
And God knows
She dodged a disappointment in me
But some men are ripe for a fall
One way or another.

Some acquaintance’s you keep
And there are some,
That you don’t
And life has a funny way
Of bringing us all full circle
Back to where we started.

For some odd reason
I pray for those I know
And even some
That I knew
Asking for them the vision
That can take so long to see.

If I hadn’t come here
I would have gone somewhere else
But the greatest treasure
Is not about what we missed
But remains always, what you keep,
And what you have.