In the Marketplace

I found you in a brightly colored street,
Amid a market crazy with the sound
Of vendors calling out their many wares
And happy people milling all around.

You were below an awning striped red
Sampling plantains and pomegranate seeds
Of which you gave me tastes straight from your hand.
(That funny smile my curious mind still heeds.)

There was a happy magic in the air,
A buoyancy of song and life and light.
Chaotic music waltzing with the scent
Of fruit that had been on a tree last night.

I found you there for we were lost together
And wandered happily among the stalls
Tasting every sample we could garner
And peering at the homes beyond the walls.

How strange to find you in a bright, loud street
When we both tend to favor solitude;
To eat of pomegranate from your hand
And be seduced by such exotic food.