Once in Louisiana

Once in Louisiana, long ago,
I walked at evening on a gravel road
That stretched forever toward
the sinking sun.

Not a tree, not a bird,
Nor any colored stone
do I remember now —
But only that I was alone
At sundown on an empty road.

Today the ageless sun swings down
toward Abu Ghraib,
An old Iraqi town;
And on this roadway to the west,
I wonder where the years have gone,
And if I still am walking on
Louisiana stone.