she came with accessories,
baubles actually
and a blue-striped-green swirly sash.
her smile spoke,
you don’t know me yet
but you should.
Yet, I sat
silent to the corner, wondering,
were those her eyes,
or, contacts made to match her skirt.
They roamed about,
scanning anything stationary,
things moving were allowed to pass by
nearly unnoticed.
Perhaps my stillness caught her eye,
or, perhaps the smile that she discovered,
sitting slightly above the rim
of crystal filled with Chardonnay.
The parade of suitors made her laugh,
more a chuckle of pretense,
mingled with partial disinterest.
The moment of truth arrived.
Was my mind filled with delusion,
too much wine, or,
some concoction of appropriate bravado.
I’ll never know for sure.
As she approached the table,
and, the others fell aside abruptly discarded,
she asked if my dance card was full.
I looked at my folded napkin.
I reached for the pen in my jacket pocket.
No, but I was waiting to write in your name.
Kelly.
It’s full now.
We never retrieved the scribbled paper,
nor, the pen I left behind.
Neither seemed important,
but the music was mutually inspiring,
our movements impeccable,
and there was nothing else that mattered much.
By the way, I was wearing a white brush linen suit,
a dark brown t-shirt underneath,
brown tassel loafers,
and more pretension than I anticipated.
Male baubles, of sorts, I suppose.
The couple left, with others watching,
both feeling special within themselves.
We didn’t last long,
but what a week
We weren’t really looking
but found the things we seek