Seth Howard

A DIFFERENT PLACE


That time, it seems like long ago
I went out for a walk, it must have been spring
Just another day in the life of one who lives too far away
Traversing the path I’d always taken
That I knew, like I knew myself
Across the far stretch leading out
Cars whirling by, by my side
The restaurants, the bars
The old liquor shops, I passed
As life passes us by
I knew the life I lived was full of questions
I knew the reason why




Then I had reached that curving road
That leaned around the bend
So many familiar places
Though no familiar faces
On this slightly cloudy day




But then, I must have taken a wrong turn
I found myself in an altogether different place
An unfamiliar road, fields where vegetables grew
And a cold wind, I had only just noticed, blowing through
Was this spring weather? I asked myself
But further still, I thought about the summers
In Hokkaido, that seemed to feel this way
That peculiar chill, where you expect there to be warmth
Those greying skies, overcast, clouds setting in
I could not find the sun, it hid so well away




It was as if I had been displaced to a different
Time, and place, fields where city structures should be
And a winter wind, that was tolerable only due
To the absence of warmth—I watched as
The wind swept across the fields
Caressing the tall grasses in waves
Was it rice perhaps? It must have been
But there, a car, turning
It seemed to be leading me out
Of the tunnel, I could see a light
In the distance, however far