lost in dupont circle

why are you so sad
i heard a distant voice ask
oblivious to the din
of automobiles and people
circling in the evening
thinking of a far off land
and a damsel there

aap ka ism e shareef kya hay?

sitting on a park bench
in the island, with leaves
slowly floating down
sunlight cascading
i was startled by the query
and reflexively ran a list
of all that i had eaten or drunk
in the past twenty four hours

and failed to reply

aap ka ism e shareef kya hay?

the query was repeated
this time i looked around
and saw a smiling couple
with an apolegetic smile
i answered their query

some years they'd spent
as peace corp volunteers
in india and conversing
in chaste urdu, in an island
in the nation's capital
momentarily
my sadness drifted away

only later it dawned
i hadn't answered
their original query