A Date Night
Joshua Lindenbaum
We sat in comfortable silence:
eating, reading, and observing.
The food came in a deep-dish pan
preserving the warmth
of a land of sausage and baked ziti:
mouth-cools required throughout most of the dish.
The Power of Now came in the colors of sky
preserving the air
of a land of moments:
pen taps against the chin required throughout most of the chapter.
The observing came in wide bowls of thought
preserving the perception
of a land of cans:
realizations required throughout most of the viewing.
Something insisted on me paying attention
(It came as a breath comes),
so I gently looked at you
sitting across from me
and smiled at your presence
with my head bowed.
There’s something intimate about a booth
even if the back is shared.
After so many years,
I never thought I would enjoy your company so much.
All the disputes, and struggle, and pain, and ands—
The possibility seemed impossible,
but it’s happening.
Yes, it’s happening:
I followed Walcott’s advice
To “Sit [and] Feast on your life.”
Joshua Lindenbaum is a quixotic and neurotic poet whose work has appeared in Five 2 One Magazine, Silhouette Press, Mistake House, Blue Lake Review, 3Elements Review, The Oddville Press, The Write Room and several other publications. He’s currently pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature at Binghamton University and will become a full-time professor despite a dismal job market. The pen has been his companion for quite some time, but it’s still waiting for him “to put a ring on it.”