{"id":23293,"date":"2025-03-12T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stadtsprachen.de\/en\/?post_type=stsp_text&p=23293"},"modified":"2025-03-12T16:37:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T15:37:48","slug":"a-map-at-my-feet","status":"publish","type":"stsp_text","link":"https:\/\/stadtsprachen.de\/en\/text\/a-map-at-my-feet\/","title":{"rendered":"A Map at my Feet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Part <\/strong>1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are streets that go off by themselves

usually late nights

or the hours before the sun rises over the hills

streets lying so close to the ocean

that insomniacs can walk across the highway

step over the dunes and stand barefoot

at the oncoming waves

there are streets so steep

they dare you to walk up them

in sorrow in love or longing

to stand as though a statue

facing the open sea

a street so vertical

the depths of your heart grew dizzy

gazing up at it

there are streets waiting for you

and they don’t change

they have a living memory

that when they see your face

and don’t recognize it

you will know you have returned

streets that experienced violence

and yet refused to give in to it

and streets that are so indifferent

not even the residents

living within those storied mansions

know if their scenic views

are real or not

all of these streets laid out

like a map at my feet

as I plot my course back\u2026
<\/p>\n\n\n\n




<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forgive me

I have left streets out

streets that should never be left alone

without someone to return to them

streets that have no further destination

apart from reliving what

they have already seen

streets too plentiful to name

divisive streets

unable to come together

to form a road

a narrative

a place for the man to stand

and these streets

refuse to return to you

they refuse now the meaning you give to them

streets in countries that no longer

allow you entry

nightmarish streets you wake from

running toward what you are afraid no longer exists

and someone

always someone on those streets

living their life without you now

what can you say about them

and yet you know

there is only one street

the one you are standing on

the one you never left

is that a mother climbing up the hill from work

is that a lover returning to your arms

is that someone you have not seen for years

calling you back<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 1 There are streets that go off by themselves usually late nights or the hours before the sun rises over the hills streets lying so close to the ocean that insomniacs can walk across the highway step over the dunes and stand barefoot at the oncoming waves there are streets so steep they dare […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":23121,"template":"","categories":[62,11],"class_list":["post-23293","stsp_text","type-stsp_text","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issue-31","category-lyrik"],"yoast_head":"\nA Map at my Feet - stadtsprachen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stadtsprachen.de\/de\/text\/a-map-at-my-feet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale:alternate\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Map at my Feet - 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