Nancy de Freitas: St Erme -- first encounter

St Erme – first encounter

At first sign, the place where I walk is crossed out,
by a definitive \ diagonal on a road sign.
A single red line
confirms
I am no longer here,
there, anywhere.

As I walk on, no longer en place
I pass a bibliothèque window
my eye drawn to the title of a child's book
displayed:
ici, là-bas et partout
and a watercolour rabbit demonstrates
arms wide
that I could be
here, there and everywhere.

Later I discover some truth about signs
In this place where I am
vraiment.
On one side, the sign confirms your entry
entrée, visiter avec nous
and on the other
it tells you that you are leaving
 
départ

But you must decide if you are leaving
It is not the sign's decision,
here, there and everywhere.



--Nancy de Freitas