abroad and to restate

so im in cambridge
the one in england in fact
it shockingly enough is sunny
though last night
i belive we were walking though clouds
that had descended from above
perhaps confused by the lack of trees
this country is so wide and open
with its moors and heaths and all

the college here makes me regretful
thinking perhaps that ive taken the wrong path
that i should have stayed
an academic
the buildings with their stately authority
the pubs with fellows designing widgets
and deducing matematical formulas
between pints and pasties
its enough to make me turn back
refute these two years
and dive back in

though windows
on well worn shelves
sit leatherbound volumes
their spines embossed
raised lines descending like vertebrae
rythmic to the touch

a ladder rests nearby
recently moved
skuff marks trace another path
over the rouch floor
scraped into a map of research

my friend has developed a slight accent
the patterns of her speach
shifted
slightly but enough
ive known her since we were 12

we work our way through the day
puntuated by snacks and tea
speeding though the portrait gallery
exclamations of
here he is!
and my god id forgotten him!
nearly friends
almost family
these names and stories
burned into our brains from long past
tracing the timelines we know so well
suprised by omissions
puzzled at forgotten inclusions
like second cousins long since married away

our pace has slowly matched up
it takes time to reaccustom
to a friend
long unseen

tomorrow im off to hungry
a city where i will be rendered mute
i dont know the language
not one word
il be at their mercy
which pleases me well enough in theory
but practice...