A Map of the City

By Terry Wright

Like travelers from opposite sides of the city,
we strolled from our respective homes
and found each other

in the middle of the bridge.
Marry me, be mine forever, you said:
épousez-moi, soyez le mien pour toujours

and sketched not a castle in the air
but a mid-coastal city with the auspicious name
of Harmony.

Oui, j’ai été et sera toujours la vôtre,
I replied : Yes.
I have been and always will be yours.

But something was lost in translation.
You shrugged exactly as if I had said no,
threw up your hands, continued

to the other side of the bridge
and disappeared into twilight.
Et j’ai été perdu depuis lors.