This is the perfect spot
for daydreaming—
just the proper combination
of light and breeze
and easy chair.
I often take refuge here—
with a book for a prop,
wistful and open.

Once, in Kyoto
along the philosopher’s
walk,  I imagined myself
a 15^th century monk—
wandering here and there among
ancient trees and temples—
mossy breeze humming gently
of the past—
of the greening of a first spring—
when dreaming
and waking
were one.

What small misstep
of evolution
has made us a race
of make-believers?
“What’s the good of daydreams?”
I ask myself.

Something for the monk
in me to ponder
as I settle in
by the half-open window
on the easy chair
in dusk’s half light.

After a glamorous childhood in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Steve (and his wife, Karen), settled in State College, PA. They have one son—the guitarist for the avant-garde group, Gang Gang Dance. His work has appeared in more than two dozen print and on-line journals. He was twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He is the current poetry editor for Centered Magazine. Steve’s chapbook, Perhaps You Can, was published by Kelsay Books in 2019. His full length poetry book, The Persistence of Memory, has just been published by Kelsay.