Unwelcome

I was not always a stranger.

Not long ago, no place in the country
Was unfamiliar.

Unless I misremember,
Dragging behind me
My Chicago miles.

I find again all those
Unwelcoming places.

Orbiting roads,

Lonesome crickets
In the park near twilight,
Unfamiliar foliage
In unfamiliar summer.

Some things go along, unchanged:
Hopelessness at dusk.

All those tobacco barns slowly
Failing.