I knew I’d seen this somewhere else,
Some place that didn’t reek of garbage;
And sure enough, checking later,
I found the selfsame pair,
The crescent moon and star,
Floating on the Turkish flag.

So there I’d been, in my ragged shorts,
On a trash-day pilgrimage of sorts,
Transfixed and bedazzled
By emblems of a place I’ve only dreamed about,
Land of sultans, emperors, Ephesus, Byzantium,
The siege and fall of Troy.

How unexpectedly the glamour of romance
Can sweeten our meager lives . . .
But often at such inappropriate times!