Gloucester Green

Gloucester Green
Christopher Bogart

I really don’t remember my arrival
At Gloucester Green.

From the moment I arrived,
It felt I had been there forever.

As I walked the streets,
So everyday,
I felt in every single way
That I had always been there.

I walked those same streets,
Passed those same ancient buildings
Nodding to passersby.

It felt that way
For ten days,
Day after day.

I walked those honey-stone streets
Of Oxford town.

Natives like me don’t need to enter
For a first time.

No maps,
No charts
Get me ‘round.
I’ve found I know
Where I will go,
Not slow,
Like a tourist,
A newcomer
With eyes darting around.

I already found my landmarks,
My bearings.

Signs tend to hide,
But not me,
For I
Am the American native
Of Oxford town.