The Lydia Davis Project: Mr. Burdoff’s Visit to Germany

(A response to Lydia Davis’ short story ‘Mr. Burdoff’s Visit to Germany’)

Go away to a far away place,
Find yourself swallowed whole
And taken by the sumptuous sights
And awesome attraction.

This place is so foreign and new.
You feel the air you breathe
Suffocates you with fresh perspective.

You’ve done this so many
Times before.
But this time is different.
This time is the final time.

Like all great escapes,
You fall in love.
In love with the city,
In love with the people,
In love with a kindred spirit.

But as soon as it begins,
It ends.
And you wish you could
Start all over
Again.