Sunday, May 18, 2014

Kensington



There were paving stones,
a menu in a glass case,
steps descending.

You were with her,
smoking among checkered tables,
trembling candles.  Wine.

Our eyes met over shoulders,
forkfuls of spaghetti. 
Her back to me, his to you.

It didn't matter what you were saying.
Your occasional smile spoke
between gestures.

I wondered:  which flat
you would return to; if you had a cat;
what album you would choose.

Had I known it was you
I would have stopped for a kiss
on the way out.



tk/ May 2014


R.A.D. Stainforth...if he only had a cat... *giggle* 




Join Magpie Tales creative writing group


*painting by Edward Hopper, 1922


24 comments:

  1. I absolutely adore this. You have said, left unsaid and implied in perfect proportion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. superb words to accompany this elegant painting

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the trick in third stanza ...'forkfuls of spaghetti. '...and elegant ending with kiss...maybe.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such strong words.. I could see the tension in those eyes of the painting directly into your words.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Written with such seeming ease the words just flow. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Our eyes met over shoulders,"
    No I-phone to cause a missed look.
    But still no kiss.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a shame they didn't have access to Craigslist's Missed Connections.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the angle you took on this..its all in perspective..

    ReplyDelete
  9. There are a lot of things left unsaid which seem to have an adverse effect on a relationship. Great write Tess!

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ah...Listening with ones eyes!! The experts say that over 80% of communication is nonverbal...a lot can be said with the eyes. Wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow. This is beautiful. (:

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love the story element, the trembling candles, all of it. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  13. ohh, i love this one, tess! another wonderfully weaved story into a poem...always enjoy yours!

    stacy lynn mar
    http://warningthestars.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tess this is pure love-genius! What a picture your words paint, too!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your poem reads like a movie scene. I can feel the electricity between the characters you painted here.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love the pacing of this poem, Tess.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful poem..liked the ending..:)

    ReplyDelete
  18. A chance encounter of the first kind, Babooshka ....

    ReplyDelete
  19. Consistent, 'quality' poetry, Tess.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh, lovely moment, full of potential and then gone! Of course he has a cat, right? That's implied.

    ReplyDelete

Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)