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after a line from Williams

The places we visit are new
versions of our city–streets we knew
house by house           elm by oak
an alley where the phone pole
marked an end zone             a park
on a river where mailboats docked
between runs to slow freighters
What was our town and what
might be draw together like lovers
in a doorway             lips joining them
for a beat after arms and linked
hands release             After sirens             a rapt
child pulls her face from a window
and leaves a faint             warm
convolution on the glass

Michael Lauchlan has contributed to many publications, including New England Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The North American Review, Louisville Review, Poet Lore, and Lake Effect. His most recent collection is Trumbull Ave., from WSU Press.