A Crowded Café

Wall-to-wall big futures
bumping to meet the grind
with the ground coffee bean.

A stranger—alone
an extra chair she offers
Me.

Awkward, but no fool
I accept this kindness,
this honor offered.

Then, as if she had known
me all along.

Then, as if she’d been
awaiting my arrival.

She opens her mouth
and out flows
a whirlwind of
clown white,
butterflies, and historic
immigrant tales—sailing,
trekking through.

It does not end there.

She talks to me between
classes about
romance and revenge,
loss and revelation
in a million words
without a sound.

And when sleep fails
me I rise to hear another
tidbit that takes me away
from a racing, restless mind.

Then,
I find rest, and peace
in her words.

And as the last words are written,
and settle on my brain,
my eyes are spent.

Embarrassed
somewhat, at my
feeble attempts
to return the favor.

She disappears,
in a crowd of my own
making, and I am left alone to realize—

she was never really there.

It was an afternoon
in an office.

I was handed a glimpse
of someone else who
let me in and gave me
the honor to be
a friend.

                                                                 Tanya Washington
                                                                       2001 Lubbock, Texas

Contact Roger to discuss availability and pricing:  email