(Lipari) (Sicilia 29)

sipping limoncello on my terrace.
the citrus is a well lit colour in these two simple lamps,
the only other significant light being
the cold bronzing orange of the moon.
it’s not what I thought earlier this morning
when lost in thoughts I didn’t want
did I ever anticipate the incense burning in an empty church hugging shore
or the street telling my nose, yes, it’s your time.
or the people pausing to correct my mispronunciations
or the way the travel guides don’t need my sale badly enough to encroach my personal space.
it’s not what I guessed.  I had an escape route planned,
in case of danger.
but here, after my first cannolo and coffee
here, under a blue orange night
here, sipping limoncello,
I burn with desire for more.