Time Travel

by Mark Saba

I step out
as I’m obliged.

My two-year-old toddler
rides my back, holds my hand

as we cross the street.
Uncle Norman rides in my veins,

noting the red geraniums
and magenta potted profusion

that cascades to the ground
in my mother’s front yard.

She is here too, her innocence
marking every turn I take

in New York’s hub of blatant
sophistication. I count my homes—

those of my scattered youth
the sanctuary of our young family

the intermittent rest stops
of apartments and vacations.

They all trail me,
backdrops and foregrounds,

phantoms of color and grays
redistributing my moods

in spite of the flying present.
There’s only so much we can

handle, a wild mix of images
our eyes must accept

as they repeat in lonely intervals
like dreamcatchers that follow us

from one waking moment to the next.

Mark Saba has been writing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction for 40 years. His book publications include, most recently, Two Novellas: A Luke of All Ages / Fire and Ice, Calling the Names (poetry), and Ghost Tracks: Stories of Pittsburgh Past. His new book of poetry, Flowers in The Dark, will be published in 2023. His work has appeared widely in literary magazines around the U.S. and abroad. He is also a painter, and is recently retired as a medical illustrator at Yale University. View his website here.