Ark of the Lost Angels

C&O Canal in Georgetown, Washington DC, August 2023 _{(Credit: Author)}

A quick little celebration before the meat of the poem, but this is the 50th post I’ve done for the website. Some weeks have been harder than others, especially with life events going on, but I’m very grateful to have decided to do this, and am very proud to have gotten to fifty posts since February.

Originally written August 20th, 2022. Inspired by “The Past and Pending” by The Shins.

They say nothing good happens after 2:00 AM,
That’s true. That’s when we parted ways,
On a night that felt like it should never end.
2:00 AM felt like 10:00 PM the night before.

Rhythmic steps down almost empty streets,
Walking paths I am all too familiar with,
Yet they feel brand new tonight.
I feel like an amateur tour guide.

The lights on the Potomac feel different at midnight.
Rosslyn’s towers stand ever-present, glowing, but silent.
The Kennedy Center shouts “Slava Ukraini!” in lights,
The airplanes on approach offer glimmers of adventure.

M street is eerily quiet. It’ll be back to being packed
When school returns in the coming weeks.
But for now, the cobbled streets of Georgetown
Are reserved for transient souls like us.

A whole weekend of knowing you jammed into one evening,
A concert a scant hours ago feels like yesterday’s news,
Right now is sitting in a classic bar, swapping stories,
Sharing childhoods that were thousands of miles apart.

I hate these highways for carrying me away,
Almost deserted streets long after the midnight hour.
I didn’t know that the world could be so amazing after dark.
So electrifying.