Traipsin’ through the park in random directions,
The mind’s doing likewise, thoughts touchin’ upon different subjects,
It’s a nice summer afternoon, the holiday season imminent,
Yours truly ain’t even started buying those Christmas presents yet,
The mind’s speeding train suddenly derailed by the presence of a stranger,
Wearing a loaded backpack, clutching the image of one of the city’s landmarks,
Slightly annoyed at being snapped out of my trance, but this fella needed assistance, might as well give this dude a chance,
Language barrier cancelled a verbal exchange, showed me the picture in his hand in order to communicate,
Clear as day that he was looking to get to this place,
Poor guy had lost his bearings, turned to the kindness of strangers to help him somehow,
So lost was I in my thoughts I hadn’t quite returned to the here and now,
Lived in this city for most of my life, certainly familiar with its icons and sights,
Yet I’m lost at sea with this traveler, home had suddenly become unfamiliar,
Pointed to some random direction, where I believed he should go,
Laid out that path for him, it wasn’t quite the yellow brick road,
Nevertheless he was satisfied, thanked me in his native tongue,
Then off he went, happily, into the afternoon sun,
‘Hope he makes it there,’ thought I, resuming my walk,
Headed towards the exits, out to the street, almost time to head home.