the imaginary triangle (revised 2012)

i've been thinking about this poem a lot lately for no apparent reason. when re-reading it, the core jumped out at me, so i whittled it away and placed it here on my mantle.

they both wore blue.

one with her hair up

and the other had it down.

i danced with one,

but i never learned a thing

and left before the dj

pulled the record from the table.

one wanted me to ask,

but i let her walk away.

they both passed through those doors

and into the early-summer mist

alone or with another.

would they know?

would they care?

did they ever say a word

to each other

as simple as asking directions

or to pass the salt?

if some stranger could show them

how i sit in the blackness

conjuring up old memories

that may never have been good enough

to make an imprint

in the minds of better men

would it stir an ounce within them,

or would they wave their hands

and dismiss it all

to being young and immature

while i grow older

yet still firmly rooted

in the dust of so long ago.