in situ
A misplaced step and I am face to face
again with Greece. The Areopagus,
the Byzantine mosaic floor that looked
for all the centuries like this one save
the dust, which hasn’t been swept up
in here for years. The same meticulous
thin lines of grout we found in situ there
set off the tiles in this stairwell where
I’ve fallen to the examination of
their small square–cut details. To us
the discovery was everything. Forget
how many just the same had been unearthed,
how unremarkable our find: we were
in Athens, walking ancient places, and
were tripping over wonders.