Well Understood

The ole diner offers twelve course 
conversations salted with unspoken jargon:
one patron withholds the dialect of fed-
up-of-my-job while his buddy barely
nods, too worn-to-the-bone; 
a wife texts her friend, i-found-
a-lump-in-my-breast
while her husband swallows , ah-hell-
	she’s-having-an-affair.

Hear the internalized vernacular 
of hooked-on-painkillers,
the lonely phraseology of my-kids-
never-visit, and the private pang of he-didn’t-
use-a-condom.  Misery keeps 
its six degrees of vagueness, widens 

each tiny rift. It would only take
mindfulness, a willingness to stretch,
but these half-hearted translations
make for such unsound bridges —

take table three, a party of two:
he snaps, get with reality, 
which means, Honey-just-listen
while she raises one finger
to her lips, signing, please-just-shut-up-
                and-kiss-me.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017

Poem

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Foster Avatar
August 20, 2019 at 10:12 PM
Beautiful write. Just kiss me... Love that. ann
Juman Avatar
July 20, 2018 at 10:28 PM
slowed me down but I enjoyed it Excellent my friend
Stars Avatar
September 2, 2017 at 7:10 PM
how many songs that you truely knew were sang ... what pot smoked on dishman hands ...
Raynes Avatar
August 15, 2017 at 8:11 AM
I love to people watch down town with my partner, all this and more is always going on. Fantastic writing cyndi
Richards Avatar
June 8, 2017 at 10:07 AM
You never fail to give the reader a chance to explore the rich treasure of good poetry. I always want to go back and read it again. Thank you :)
Cornish Avatar
June 7, 2017 at 4:08 PM
I get it dear, wonderfully expressed how nothing has changed----really---and never will.---yet there is one thing, the way you can make all of it "poetry"--thanks for that
Pigeon Tart Avatar
June 7, 2017 at 1:29 PM
I really enjoyed this write Cyndi, well done!
Green Avatar
June 7, 2017 at 12:38 PM
I enjoyed this poem but especially the last line as it seems all of these patrons were doing nothing but complaining which is so sad. Yes, we all probably have much to complain about but we also have much to be thankful for. So the please-shut-up-and-kiss-me was all I needed to hear. : ) The poem was extremely well written, I like how it moved throughout and kept me hanging on waiting to eavesdrop on the next table.
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