libretto

I stumble down
Nassau’s footway, pursued by the
carnival of street noise to
where rosedale glows.

I alight on the doorstep
and push open
the sound
breathless
save
for Dylan
and the thickness
of the silence acoustic
shelves lined with volumes
the drift of my finger's
tip
over ridge
over face over spine
each awake now
silently mouthing their words to me
in language I finally can understand.