Stern stiff shadows
a musing poem from a Starbucks table
Inspired by these two photos… taken from the two cameras on my laptop.. me and away. Recording at the bottom if you like that sort of thing.
Shadows set my face back like a villain bright though the light may be cheery though my smile may feel My glasses reflect a disparate world welcoming though my eyes may be kind though my expression may feel Stern, she would say, is what I appear Inside I am a puppy bouncing off the walls What’s this? What’s that? Who's that? Stiff, I am, fused rigid like the tin man Though I bend like a reed in wind Or kelp undersea. Not what I thought, she said. When she traveled the world to see me I am not a tattoo’d, pierced man with anarchic phrases scribed on my clothing. I am simple and comfortable… not a villain, not disparate, stern or stiff. I am a floating mask unintentionally worn. Across from me she sits. Though all in passing think me alone. No, it is merely an apparition of time Her image is a flicker in my mind. A taste in the air, a scent on my tongue… The chirp of the chair on the floor… Present not as a ghost… present as the experience was then Present as the best chocolate you ever had Present as your long past grandmother’s hugs Present as your favorite teacher from grade school Present for having been. Present for having been a favorite. Present for having been a favorite thing that you were sad to see end. Life In games I’ve always been the one that survives to the end. Other players might be eliminated, but there I would be. One of two survivors striving to win. But why? All my friends are out. It was more fun when we were all in it together. It was the experience, the journey together that we shared. And now Life I remain and look for another team of players. I look and see and notice teams and groups and pairs everywhere, but they all seem to be complete. Set. Satisfied with what they have. Busy and talking into empty spaces as if there is someone actually there. I look in their faces and I see only shadows and sternness. It’s a disparate world. Where and when will the welcoming face appear? Will it find me? Is it already here and I am blinded by its mask? Can they see through my own floating mask?
Hey! Here’s a recording!