Tag Archives: Life

Coffee Shop Table

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Scratched by

Students
Grandparents
Babies
Siblings
Lovers
Silverware
Coins
Coffee cups and plates
Books
Papers
Pens
Arguments
Decisions
Creating
Erasing
Sharing
Spills
Musings

Used by those

Wise
Wicked
Innocent
Deluded
Ignorant
Mad
Rushed
Focused

Works with

Smiles
A soft word
Can I take your order?
More coffee?
Here is your check
A hand over the loose change

Existing for another

Shift
Day
Year
Lifetime
Commercial lease
Refurbishment

Cleaned and cleaned again
Old wood pattern
Medium tan
Off white
Reflections of the ceiling lights on the scratches
Lines and curves
Heads tilt one way then another to see the next story
Shiny pictures of experience
Different wrinkles of age
More tales of years past
Another song from the road
A bard for dining patrons

Closing time
The owner presses the switch
Looks around
Sighs
Walks outside
Locks up
No more stories until morning’s light
Quiet
Late night waiting for the first rush of the day

Coffee shop table

We are its props in the play of life

Downtown Train

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You said that you would meet me at the subway station
Dressed in your downtown clothes
Ready to go to see my friends
I waited for an hour
Twelve trains
Sixty commercials
A billboard change
I thought of you every turnstile open
Each announcement
All conductor calls
Long-haired girls of about your height
Lonely minutes with quiet nothing

You said that you would meet me at the subway station
Dressed in your downtown clothes
No answered calls to your cell
I see reflections of you inside the train on the other platform
  dressed in their uptown clothes
I lean against the white tile wall
Arms outstretched
Fingernails scratching into the grout
Feeling the wind on my face
From the train that should be ours

You said that you would meet me at the subway station
Dressed in your downtown clothes
That knot in my stomach which I haven’t felt since before I knew you
  ties my hope
The station clock does not slow
Does not stop
I’m going to find you five blocks away
You will tell me it was just a silly thing
  in the voice you use when you know that I’m worried
We will go to the corner deli for two coffees in paper cups
  and walk through Central Park to Strawberry Fields
Where we will be still
And hold hands

You said that you would meet me at the subway station
Dressed in your downtown clothes
I must go look for you now
Until I find you
Or you find me
My heart will still be here
Waiting for our train
Looking forward to seeing my friends
With you

Speed Limit

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She flew past me like I was standing still
Reached out, grabbed my heart, and was gone
I caught up with her in traffic and could see my heart on her passenger seat
But she would not lower her window
And then she sped off

I knew her last year
We took many journeys together in her car
Which I knew so very well with me sitting to her right
But one day she starting speeding
And left me in the dust

I followed her on the freeway
Going 70
Feeling like 110
But she slowed down, took the last exit
And I found her in a supermarket parking lot

She rushed into the produce section and I followed
Demanding my heart back
Or some type of long-term lease arrangement
But she just smiled, paid for some groceries
And ran

I followed her to the market exit and watched the heart-thief drive away
Then I walked back into the market to decide who to call
Maybe my insurance agent
But I don’t think that I’m covered for heart-theft
And I decided that eventually I will get a replacement

Maybe even an upgrade

Gates

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I passed the health foods store on Sunday
The store was closed
She wasn’t there
But if she was
My gates were locked anyway
So I kept walking

I passed the health foods store on Monday
The store was closed
He wasn’t there
But if he was
My gates were locked anyway
So I kept walking

I locked the gate after my heart was stolen and ransomed
After I lost my love and my innocence
After I put up my guard
After the pain

Was I keeping something in?
Was I keeping something out?
I don’t remember any more

I passed the health foods store on Tuesday
The store was closed
There she was
But she would not look at me
Her gates were locked
So I kept walking

I passed the health foods store on Tuesday
The store was closed
There he was
But he would not look at me
His gates were locked
So I kept walking

My key is lost in my confusion
I looked straight ahead
Should I turn my head and touch the tumblers?
Had the lock rusted shut forever?

I passed the health foods store today
Its metal gate was open and the store was busy
She passed me
And glanced at me

I passed the health foods store today
Its metal gate was open and the store was busy
He passed me
And glanced at me

We turned to each other

We went into the health foods store today
Past the open gate and the brown rice
Past the avocados and granola
Past the organic apples
Past the supplements
Past the cookies
Near the rice
We gave
Us
A
Key

Our gates are open
And nothing is missing