where we are, by Gerald Locklin

i envy those
who live in two places:
new york, say, and london;
wales and spain;
l.a. and paris;
hawaii and switzerland.
there is always the anticipation
of the change, the chance that what is wrong
is the result of where you are. i have
always loved both the freshness of
arriving and the relief of leaving. with
two homes every move would be a homecoming.
i am not even considering the weather, hot
or cold, dry or wet: i am talking about hope.

                                          -Gerald Locklin

from That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern

"Would you like a whiskey, Jamesie?" she asked.
"Now you're talking, Kate. But you should know by now that 'wilya' is a very bad word."
"Why bad?"
"Look at yer man," he pointed to where Ruttledge had already taken glasses and a bottle of Powers from the cupboard and was running water into a brown jug.
"I'm slow."
"You're not one bit slow, Kate. You just weren't brought up here. You nearly have to be born into a place to know what's going on and what to do."