Intimate Date
We clambered
out of parked
bubble green car,
autumn's night
painting nearly everything grey,
light spilled colour
from the Greek Restaurant,
white angular letters
above the glass doorway
the only hint of culture
on an otherwise modern
facade,
enjoying friends,
husband and wife
from a wedding party
years ago,
out to celebrate
their wedding anniversary.
Years of friendship, pain,
Love, children growing up,
He’s a little Greek
I love the Greek food
Not so sure
of her Greek tastes.
The warmth of the
wooden table room spilled out
and the Maitre d’ greeted us,
as we unraveled
from a day of work
into the moment.
We smiled
and followed to our
dark grained table.
Cool water, chatter, slightly
dog-eared menus, laughter
all cross our table,
mixing an enthusiasm
for life with
memories of the past,
conversation is fun
as we toss stories
in turn
listening intently
to each other,
we even send the waiter
away as we still
haven’t had time
to choose
our dish for the day.
Around us the restaurant
tables fill,
couples,
a long table
with a large party,
some must be Greek
we decide based
on look and colour,
but we don’t really know,
It’s slightly reassuring to
be eating Greek where
the real Greek eat
or so we choose
to believe.
Beside us
a couple who are
not there,
Since they sat down
each has been intimate
with their cellphone,
texting, Facebooking
WhatsApp chat
maybe the weather,
Could I suggest
to them,
why not start with a
conversation about weather
as that would be
more romance than
your current connection,
that would be more intimate
than your current finger poke,
ultimately
why did you come?
The waiter calls by their table
and they spend more time
talking to her
than they have
to each other
in the last ten minutes.
Why do we prefer
the shallow?
Stuck jumping
over small waves
forever timid
leaping the small
imagined tidal waves,
running away, pretending,
never tall enough, risking enough
never learning to swim,
so the thrills of riding, tubing,
plunging, being tossed
end over end
will never happen.
A life in the shallow
playing at relationships
never immersed,
superficial
so no one can love us
see us
for self is hidden
and love for others
is never learned.
skin-deep connections
deep loneliness.
Prompt
Out with friends and technology gets in the way of relationships.
out of parked
bubble green car,
autumn's night
painting nearly everything grey,
light spilled colour
from the Greek Restaurant,
white angular letters
above the glass doorway
the only hint of culture
on an otherwise modern
facade,
enjoying friends,
husband and wife
from a wedding party
years ago,
out to celebrate
their wedding anniversary.
Years of friendship, pain,
Love, children growing up,
He’s a little Greek
I love the Greek food
Not so sure
of her Greek tastes.
The warmth of the
wooden table room spilled out
and the Maitre d’ greeted us,
as we unraveled
from a day of work
into the moment.
We smiled
and followed to our
dark grained table.
Cool water, chatter, slightly
dog-eared menus, laughter
all cross our table,
mixing an enthusiasm
for life with
memories of the past,
conversation is fun
as we toss stories
in turn
listening intently
to each other,
we even send the waiter
away as we still
haven’t had time
to choose
our dish for the day.
Around us the restaurant
tables fill,
couples,
a long table
with a large party,
some must be Greek
we decide based
on look and colour,
but we don’t really know,
It’s slightly reassuring to
be eating Greek where
the real Greek eat
or so we choose
to believe.
Beside us
a couple who are
not there,
Since they sat down
each has been intimate
with their cellphone,
texting, Facebooking
WhatsApp chat
maybe the weather,
Could I suggest
to them,
why not start with a
conversation about weather
as that would be
more romance than
your current connection,
that would be more intimate
than your current finger poke,
ultimately
why did you come?
The waiter calls by their table
and they spend more time
talking to her
than they have
to each other
in the last ten minutes.
Why do we prefer
the shallow?
Stuck jumping
over small waves
forever timid
leaping the small
imagined tidal waves,
running away, pretending,
never tall enough, risking enough
never learning to swim,
so the thrills of riding, tubing,
plunging, being tossed
end over end
will never happen.
A life in the shallow
playing at relationships
never immersed,
superficial
so no one can love us
see us
for self is hidden
and love for others
is never learned.
skin-deep connections
deep loneliness.
Prompt
Out with friends and technology gets in the way of relationships.
