Santa Fe New Mexico

Twilight in the Small Town

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We see the model of a provincial European town with its gothic church and central square. Usually there is a Bank and a cafe on the same square. After the banks closed, the residents would gather in a small cafe and would discuss their small family issues or big political news. At the dusk people would return home and the square would be left empty lit up by the moon.

Approaching dusk and mysterious trees surrounding the square create the feeling of immersion in reminiscences, where some things and events appear brighter and more distinctly then the others. Frequently the people who left their small town lives behind feel nostalgic for their silence and quietness.
 

Grasshoppers, in the silence, rage at night,

As from an atom bomb, at six o'clock,

the streets are empty, with no one in sight.

The moon emerges, entering the black

square of the window. At full speed,

a striking Buick on occasion shines upon

the Unknown Soldier's figure in the street.
 

and should the people cease to breed, the pastor

would christen autos, utterly complacent.
 

Josef Brodsky, 1972