Eating Alone

Nighthawks, Edward Hopper, 1942

~~~

David posted a wonderful piece of his digital art today on Edward

Hopper. I love the strong simplicity of Hopper's work. It's so very

American and exudes a certain serenity. I've seen Nighthawks at

The Art Institute of Chicago and it brings to mind a poem I read

this week by Daniel Lusk.

~~~

Understudy

.

Old men who eat alone in small cafes

arrange the silver carefully

beside the plate.

.

It crawls inside their cuffs

and edges out again along their templates

and the gothic arches of their brows.

.

Arranging is the life

now

isn't it.

.

Old men check their watches

frequently,

lest the sand run out unnoticed

onto the table by the water glass.

.

Their hands flutter

over the fork and spoon again, the knife,

as if the knife were a lost opportunity

or a love that might be set to rights.

.

Attentive as they are to these

small handles,

I suspect if they let go

.

they'll belly up with loneliness

and float off toward the ceiling fans

in all these small cafes

.

where I sit watching, hours on end,

to learn their little order,

eating alone.