Four Cafes

    The four cafes, bordering the canal, sat eerily still this January night.  So often they seemed to blend together but on occasion any one of them could become a little more rowdy, and tactfully competitive - making the view a little more interesting.  I would watch from my apartment window as their personalities were expressed through music, each displaying their own version of laughter and unique aromas defining their menus and all, oh! so heavenly.  I watched with envy as couples danced and caroused on the festooned decks that laced the water’s edge and I’d sway to the rhythmic pulses rippling in the water's reflection. 
   But on this evening, I watched as each sat in silence.  The haze of fog had settled just above the canal’s waterline, slowly drifting in rhyme to its flow, deepening the stillness.  I was filled with a sense of sadness.  Each empty cafe appeared to be waiting for someone... a friend maybe, possibly a lover?  But no one came. It was an emptiness I knew well.   

loneliness lingers
in an ominous silence,
still waters quiver


Copyright © | Year Posted 2023



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Date: 9/8/2025 7:01:00 PM
Dear Mark, the power your golden pen brings me to the “four cafes” scene with ease. Your vivid intimate and atmospheric imagery illuminates this January night in my imagination. Your prose is vibrant yet thoughtful in its reflections of then and now and your haiku is striking in its melancholy… a touching finale. Congratulations for your success in Mark’s contest. Warmest wishes, my poet friend.. ~Susan
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Date: 9/3/2025 7:08:00 PM
Mark, love the jazzy vibe of the prose and the quiet meditation of the haiku. Congratulations on your top 10 win on Mile 13 of my 2025 Poetry Marathon Contest. Keep your running shoes on, because Mile 14 has already started.
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Date: 3/22/2023 5:00:00 PM
Impressive Mark. Talented you are:) If there had been a girl involved, I could've been reading a MIckey Spillane novel. Very nice indeed..
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Date: 3/9/2023 11:15:00 AM
Hi Mark I find this a tad melancholy and enjoyed it very much. As you say, Julia offers great contests and does a fine job judging! :)
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Date: 3/9/2023 10:16:00 AM
A narrative written with heart. Most striking.
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Date: 3/3/2023 12:43:00 PM
It is a sad reality for millions, Mark. Expressed very well in your poem. Great to see you again. I hope life has been treating you well:)
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