Do you

a conversation

remember how we usta sit

on the stone staircase by the liquor store

across the street from the specific ocean

late at night, ruminating and medicating

under a partly-cloudy sky?

 

how the minutes turned to hours

and the darkness into day as we toasted Shakespeare and

the power of literature,

the politics of war

and the glory of mead.

 

remember how we watched the world walk by

wondering how so many couldn’t see what was falling apart,

while our hearts thundered at

the outrage of apathy.

 

never mind our complicity

in the compromises made-

such a notion nineteen could not comprehend.

 

in the end, Time conquers and enthusiasm fades

as we take our place among the living dead. the rent is due,

the car won’t start and all that is left of youth

is the memory of the possibilities, the hopes left behind

on a stone staircase by the liquor store.   

Reviews

[emmajoygreen]

Powerful yet thoughtful truth.. no hidden thoughts here but the raw moment by moment realism that young people see before they're near forced to 'behave' or go 'overboard' . Your finish is as near a biography that a few near tragic sentences can be.

' in the end, Time conquers and enthusiasm fades
as we take our place among the living dead. the rent is due,
the car won’t start and all that is left of youth
is the memory of the possibilities, the hopes left behind
on a stone staircase by the liquor store.'

You write superbly, This was written way back.. wish you were still posting in here.

[LJW]

12 years later I read this again.
Still love it.
I've learned not to stop at those steps near the liquor store now.

[Red Pill Coyote]

Ah, this is domestic complexity at its finest..
Peaceful yet fierce...
I dig it.

[Emily B]

I clicked on your profile, remembering these words, and happy day, I came right to them

it is nice to see an old friend and realize you love them just as much as ever

[Zatoichi]

Thank you for this smile; you are always a joy to read. I pray blessings on your home and all within. Z

[Emily B]

Blessings to you as well.

[JenniferMarie]

Beautiful.

Favortie stanza:

"remember how we watched the world walk by
*wondering how so many couldn’t see what was *falling apart,
while our hearts thundered at
the outrage of apathy."

Well written. I can relate to being young and questioning the world and then this character reflects on those dreams lost. I find myself rooting for him, wanting him to see that he can still accomplish those dreams. You ended it perfectly to convey your message. Well done.

[Emily B]

happy synchronicity, these were exactly the words I needed today!

[Kaa Na Kalyanasundaram]

Good write. I liked the piece much. with regards.

[Mark]

Complicity that a nineteen year old could not comprehend. We never see the web we are snared in. At least not at nineteen, maybe thats why we look back so fondly.

[Emily B]

do I get some kind of reward for visiting these words more often than any other cafe-r?

well, can there be any more reward than visiting words that you love?

[V.B.]

You had me absolutely sold on this from the very first line. As soon as I pronounced "usta" as "used-ta" in my head without a second's hesitation, this poem owned me. I got another big laugh out of "specific ocean," and all that with the liquor store imagery thrown in? And I wasn't even out of the first stanza yet!

I am clearly not the first to note this poem's brilliance, and I am sure I will not be the last. Phenomenal work, blind swordsman Zatoichi.