The Southern Cross at Night

Sitting on a park bench half a world away from

the USA, you’re thinking this may as well be

Mars. Yes, that far— Hyde Park, Sydney, Aus-

tralia and you’re thinking, this world you’re in

is upside down, all turned around. You know

what brought you to this, but how and when

to get back home? You don’t know. What the

hell, tonight, intoxicated on vodka and Aussie

beer, you scan the sky and look around for the

touted Southern Cross. A small group of people

pass by, and in German ask you for directions.

Having been stationed there with Army decades

ago, you understand, and point in the right direc-

tion, answering in their native tongue, “Ya, King’s

Cross, immer geradeaus,“ (always straight ahead).

Huh, you snicker, imagine the irony of a lost soul

such as you giving directions to the likes of foreign-
ers such as they. You take another swig of vodka
from the bottle, continuing your of sweep of the sky
in search of that illusive constellation. Your world is

upside down and all turned around. What brought

you here in the first place turned out to be a bust.

And the city lights of Sydney at night are way too

damned bright.

Chris Hanch 8-25-19