A Wonderful Disguise

© Matthew Word Bain

I found the entrance to this alley
on the level of the main drag
on a previous visit, months ago
it did not look inviting
I did not enter

the light at the top of the steps
shines down from where I stood

stumbling upon this same place
with a line of sight to the sky
from the lower level
of the service road
out back
it turns out to be
as inviting as it is
strewn with debris

multi-colored brickwork
and even the arrangement
of all these spare tires
evoke an aesthetic
that is somehow alive
evince the personality
of a genius loci

I wander through
humbled by the beauty
in such an unexpected guise