I find myself
in a coffee shop
with biscotti
in a shop
with books
posters
records
pile upon pile
yes 
moravia
morante
there
with no prominence now
giving way to oggi
tempo and other
glossy magazines
it seems we grow
growing backwards
to a time
when present history
passed time

on a low table
unbound
spoon river anthology
edgar lee masters
diverts me
from old Campari
Lambretta posters

as a teenager
I remember well
cinecittá

its world of romance
tragedy irony
as I grow backwards
seeking the confidence
nay innocence 
of those days

a man walks in
shakes his umbrella
tips his hat
sits where he sat yesterday
calls for expresso
and dreams
his dreams too