Conversation In a Lift

Conversation in a Lift. 
An elderly lady and I was in the lift she was going to
the eight floor and I to the seventh. We stood there 
looking at the dial, to avoid eye contact, and then 
the lift, somewhere between four or five, stopped.
 I pressed the red alarm button, so did she just to 
make sure. Two strangers stuck in a lift, say something 
clever I urged myself. “I´m not really Portuguese” I said 
and wondered why I felt the need to tell her that. 
“I´m a Greek, she said, lived in London for forty years my 
husband ran a shipping company but he died so I came 
here to live.” She would never have told me this if it 
hadn´t been for the bloody lift that had forced me into
being sociable. She spoke with an upper class accent 
which annoyed me, how could I respond by telling her 
I used to be a cook? The lift shuddered and she held on 
to my arm. Then the escalator began moving up again 
I gallantly stayed with her to the eight floor, before
going down to my own flat. I have seen her since when 
she is out walking her dog; she pretends not to see me.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2012

Poem

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Collins Avatar
February 18, 2012 at 10:45 AM
Jan -- I just keep reading yours and loving them. Too tired to go on.
Brown Avatar
February 10, 2012 at 12:38 PM
What a wonderful day I am having sitting here reading such amazing poetry. I am glad yours is amongst the ones I have enjoyed reading today Jan. Thank you for sharing it. I hope you have a very inspirational weekend. Love, Carol
Hansen Avatar
February 15, 2012 at 10:59 AM
thank you Carol... sory for late answer my old computer broke down
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