Andrew Shields lives in Basel, Switzerland. His collection of poems "Thomas Hardy Listens to Louis Armstrong" was published by Eyewear in 2015. His band Human Shields released the album "Somebody's Hometown" in 2015 and the EP "Défense de jouer" in 2016. Mastodon: https://mas.to/@AndrewShields Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
andrewshieldspoems/

Andrew Shields

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Coffee and Sparkling Water

For Jami

While my daughter's riding at the stable,
I sit outside your cafe at a table
to read my books or write some lines.

History's never as far away
as it seems to be on a sunny day.

What soldiers might have walked this street,
or ones outside the houses where we slept
in the days after we were born?

The tree gives me shade against the sun;
my sunglasses darken the paper I'm writing on.

You can tell your story of what brought you here;
I can tell mine. The possible soldiers
were also far from somewhere they called home.

You give me coffee, water, pen and paper.
I give you these words in thanks.