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we rode into town

expected a crowd able to

swallow us whole

some crimson banners

proclaiming our conquests

but the square was empty

the vendors all boarded up

and the lone beggar

unimpressed

on the trail

you were a child chewing ivy

waxing poetic about the future

with a wooden bowl beside you

a reservoir for your spit

at an empty table

overlooking the square

you asked

wasn’t this supposed to change

I kept hoping the crowds

would return

so we could have something

to talk about

aside from this

empty endless vacation