Robert Witmer
December
At the edge of sight,
through a small window,
I see a few faint lights
in a town I know
I will never visit,
so I keep watching
as darkness closes over
one light and then another,
until the town is fast asleep
and the train whistle sounds
and the carriage heaves
back into the night.
Robert Witmer, a longtime resident of Japan, is an emeritus professor and poet, who combines a love of family and verse with a passion for petanque and the great outdoors.