Utrecht, or The Way Things Used To Be

I thought this place was history, I thought it was the past. I thought I never really lived here, just skimmed the outer walls, barricaded behind campus fences.

And every Wednesday afternoon, we'd have our day off, we'd escape the walls and run right into each other in town. We'd be surprised, how was it possible, this coincidence of walking into campus people when we'd just manage to get off-campus, for the first time in a week? We tried out our newly learnt statistical theories to explain the event.

Then, today, I wandered Utrecht streets while I was on the phone. My mind was with the conversation, the city was just décor and in the unconscious state of mind brought about by isolated speaking & listening , I found my way around. I knew the cobble stones, and I knew what to expect if I turned a corner, I wandered to de Dom tower and back without hesitation.

I knew my way; there is no way I can get lost here; (getting lost, my main focus in life); yet I could still breathe; I was not afraid. The past was not jumping at me from behind the walls, memories were not choking me. There is new history to find still, these streets have not yet been worn out by my walking, and my talking, and my late-night phone calls.

Wilhelmina Park,Parkcafé, de grote AH, and de kleine, Voorstraat, Neude & Mr. Jacks. This place could still be home.