Monday, February 06, 2006

Poem of the Day

On Dating at 53 by Loyal F Ramsey

One day, through no apparent decision
And very little real desire,
You find yourself
Standing at the fifty yard line
On the field in an empty and darkening stadium.
You look about and shout,
Your voice barely reaching the first row of seats.
High up in the stands,
Dimly visible in the dull twilight
Sit a few people,
Some in twos and threes,
But most are as isolated as you.
Some of them wave
In response to your tentative gestures,
But many are seemingly unable
To view the field or notice your situation.

Every once in a while,
Another figure stumbles onto the turf,
Dazed and confused,
Usually appearing at a spot quite distant,
But occasionaly passing mere yards away.
Then, a quick furtive conversation can occur
As they rush for the exit,
Leaving you to contemplate the scoreboard in silence.

3 comments:

Mitch H. said...

Is this a re-write of the version in that pamphlet you self-published? It's sitting on a shelf at home, and I don't have it on hand to compare.

I like it.

handdrummer said...

Yes it was in that collection. I cleaned up a couple of lines and removed some needless repetition and a bit of the self conscious "arty-smarty-ness" that infected the original version.

And thanks for liking it. I think it's a bit decent work, if I do say so myself.

Anonymous said...

Nicely done, handdrummer, and welcome back! xo