The Niches Of Saints That Come And Go Poem by Denis Mair

(for a painting by Abdelhaq Djellab titled 'The Medina of Tunis')
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People coming and going in the marketplace appear to be set apart, one by one

A fortuitous spark of attention will encounter a special moment of someone's dignity

Or a visual echo will arrive from a character type that played a role in history

Here is a face that plied an honest trade in a souk frequented by adventurers

There is a face with gravitas, suited to honoring a row of saints in niches

Suddenly in the stone of my inattention, niches are carved, as if by magic

Suddenly in my afternoon without aspiration, windows open one by one

Like niches occupied by faces, each paying honor to a dignified purpose

Faces far more enduring than the wall of my ennui--- may it crumble rapidly.