THE ONE FOLLOWING YOU

Because of you, that coastal city

has appeared on my map.

In my mind it’s no longer

a fishing village far away.

Every morning I wake

to follow you on the bus to work,

past the bay enclosed in mist

and through a long tunnel into town.

We then walk along the street shaded by maples,

enter a gate to a schoolhouse,

and finally stand before a room of children.

You open a textbook and read to them

legends of triumph and updated fables.

You also draw on the chalkboard

a tomorrow that might be more colorful.

Whether you know it or not,

whether you like it or not,

you always bring along

an invisible guard.