someday, all my friends will die
my relatives and loved ones too
my enemies will die and all my neighbors
the passers-by whom i once met on the street
will vanish from the surface of the earth

my classmates and colleagues
teachers professors co-workers
will die

all the people will breathe their last
with whom i wore
for reasons unknown
the same uniform of time
though i never fought
in any of its battles

birds who once flew
above my head held high
will die and the dogs i used to hear howl
on spine-chilling nights outside the city
will grow silent for all eternity

coltsfoot will still grow along the fence
tired grapes will rest on arbors
but no one will call me by name
and i myself will not be

but then
carefully
head slightly cocked
i’ll watch the strange dogs
grapes and coltsfoot

and then
for the first time
i’ll really see the flight of birds

and the couple hurrying by
will scroll
their eyes
along the bench
on which i sit

and they will know
that i see
the flight of birds
differently

and that
i am
those things i don’t know
the dogs the grapes
and the coltsfoot