A Certain Peculiar Promise

They said it could not be purchased
In any of the old smokey buildings
housing shops,
Frozen on the river banks
Of a strange old town I once remembered,
Even though the dusty lights shone
A certain peculiar promise upon the
languid water, 
The elderly, hidden in scarves and watery eyes
Were not smiling 
And even the children who sparked a muted promise
Also could not grasp
What it was they missed
And I wondered
If happiness might ever be found
again

M P 7/10/22