I see futures…

More than coffee…

Polly has a name tag.

I don’t have a name tag.

She sees me as I am.

She doesn’t know what I see.

She sees now,

I see futures, more for her than for me.

When I slumped in this booth,

I thought I wanted coffee…

I think what I really want

is to be really ready

to be the old man who is already me.

What I want is to warm myself

with old joys in new ways,

what I want is the promise

of all my yesterdays,

the promise of kissing my beloved

at tomorrow’s dawn,

what I want is to be remembered

by my grandchildren.

What I want is to tell Polly, gently,

to see her futures with my eyes,

to pay attention to the memories

that are piling up,

to let herself rejoice in the tomorrows,

to start learning

what kind of old lady she’s going to be…

She stands there,

somehow looking down

on the mountain of my years,

with her order book in hand,

and she asks:

“Know what you want?”

May 31, 2020

Inspired by “No Problem” by George Bilgere (b1951)

My poem “More than coffee…” was published in my fifth collection of 53 poems, My first name was rain: A dreamery of poems.

You can buy it on Amazon (paperback and Kindle),

or get it free in Kindle Unlimited, search for “Richard Carl Subber”

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The Wind and the Lion (1975)

heroic, the way it was…(movie review)

click here

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Writing Rainbows: Poems for Grown-Ups with 59 free verse and haiku poems,

and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)

and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.

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“More than coffee…” (my poem)