Stranger by Night

Edward Hirsch

After I lost
my peripheral vision
I started getting sideswiped
by pedestrians cutting
in front of me
almost randomly
like memories
I couldn’t see coming
as I left the building
at twilight
or stepped gingerly
off the curb
or even just crossed
the wet pavement
to the stairs descending
precipitously
into the subway station
and I apologized
to every one
of those strangers
jostling me
in a world that had grown
stranger by night.

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Edward Hirsch’s most recent book is Gabriel: A Poem.

The Threepenny Review

Fall 2018

Berkeley, California

Editor and Publisher
Wendy Lesser

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