day 262

the foreigner gazes upon the open city.
He asks, "where may I purge my sins?"

He receives a reply from a woman: "in the domain of love."

And so he falls in love with her.

In love, he asks, "where may I find my bread?"

An uncle replies with a scorn, "not till you feed me."
And so he buys a bread from him.

He eats, not knowing that he is disappearing.
The city closes herself around him.

He now asks, "Where is the next plane to my holiday?"
And his child replies, "after I grow up."

And he waits his entire life.

In the final minutes leading up to his death, he asks his children for an answer to his last question:
"where may I purge my sins?"

One replies, "in the domain of love."

..."not till you feed me."

... ... "after I grow up."

He sighs, and takes his last breath.

Right up to his final moments, he is still a foreigner.