... (best 2021 - I of III)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f2-88pyRtU&ab_channel=LaBlogoth%C3%A8que

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A lot can be learnt between two people,

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Sitting across from some table,

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Drinking something warm and

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Passing little pieces of themselves -

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Little histories -

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Anecdotal memorandums

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And subtle aspirations

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Between the expression of

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Their eyes and

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The posterity of a glance.

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Those are the first steps to forever

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In most storybooks -

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In most love tales,

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Most happily ever afters -

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Beginning with something like

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A table,

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And two people,

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And ending in some fashion of

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'As though it were a dream,' or

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As though its impression might

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Paint a portrait of what's important

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Between the span of a tablecloth,

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Two ceramic cups,

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And the abandonment of all else

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Altogether, 

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For the brief span and temporality 

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Of that small, one moment before 

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The impending, and imminent thereafter.

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Author's Note

10 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 10 - 1

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

"The posterity of a glance". Interesting phrasing, as though what ensues is descended from that look. The theme is developed further toward the end, where we are advised of the importance of one special moment to "The impending, and imminent thereafter." Not sure if the poem is taking a poke at the "Some Enchanted Evening" genre of romantic art, which can be deflated by the grim reality of the years, or is stating the importance of any single moment, which is, after all, the only thing we really have or will have. As Thomas Wolfe said, "Each moment is the sum of forty thousand years."

[Ookpik]

Hey John, thanks for reading.

I'd wanted it to do both: indeed, a little poke - for the thereafter isn't phrased as the "everafter", which would be conducive to the romantic trope and easy enough to rhyme - but while the poke is there, the poem remains centered by the moment, a table and two people.

"Each moment is the sum of forty thousand years."

Hah! As humbling as that is (each moment a product of all human evolution) it does put a certain degree of pressure on the date. :)

The thereafter is what we each make, as is the posterity, both in life and from the impression of the poem - perhaps painful, with a little Cohen-esque "Hallelujah" mixed in, or, perhaps, a little Nat King Cole and "unforgettable". As always, it'd depend on the reader - as much so on the partners, and the moment that the reader sees.

That was the idea, at least, and it's a sharp eye you've got to catch it.

Thanks for reading,

-Ook