Prompt Day 20: A talk poem
Tee Shirt, Avocado and Mountain
He arrives at my door bearing gifts; avocados.
But before I can thank him he begins talking
about the Tee Shirt I am wearing. That’s
a collector’s piece he tells me. I’m not sure
if he means me or my Tee Shirt, and awkwardly
we joke. I had one of those he says, but mine was
a shade of salmon. I can’t begin to picture
such a Tee Shirt on this man at my door.
I could picture that Tee Shirt avocado green;
the mountain in the background. My Tee Shirt
is pale blue. There’s something he’s not saying.
His Tee Shirt is lost he says. (Is he about
to go home and search through his drawers
I wonder?) Thank you for the avocados I say
and our conversation continues as I invite
him in for coffee. There was something
he wasn’t saying.
I can’t stay; we are travelling tomorrow
to visit my brother. I can see something
weighs heavy on his mind and he goes on
to tell me about his brother’s pole house
in a beautiful part of the country. The pole house
looks out on a beautiful mountain. But tears
have gathered in his eyes. He is telling me
he knows his brother will not have long
to look upon this beautiful mountain.
I, in turn, wish him a safe journey.
And as he goes I say how sad I am to hear
about his brother. Thank you for coming by
with the avocados was about all I could whisper.
Benita H. Kape © 20.4.2019
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