Stepping Into the Same River

These steps are familiar
But the rhythm of my feet as I walk on them feels different

I know these trees - they look just as they did two years ago
Yet somehow the breeze caressing my skin feels unknown

The park bench is the same as it was back then
But this time I sit by myself

I feel the same energy in the air:
The streets beaming with people walking briskly,
Panorama of lights in the sky, gentle hum of the traffic 
…Yet, I also feel my own inertia,
which is foreign to me

The buildings still touch the skies
I still stare in awe - floor after floor of human triumph against gravity
… But my dreams
seem to have taken the elevator
down to the basement which I cannot see