Please don't say Vegas.
We're halfway between Durban and Bloem',
so don't say Vegas, okay ?
Thankfully you found a way, reluctantly,
to settle on the right answer
without saying it out loud.
All the way to the beach,
so I hopped in, and I didn't laugh.
I introduced myself
and for an awkward moment
you introduced neither
yourself nor that guy you wanted to be.
Perhaps you didn't want to introduce
yourself, anonymous as me.
And you didn't need to introduce him,
how could I possibly not know his name ?
Then, after a moment of that,
you introduced him anyways.
It would be a long, silly drive.
You said it. Your voice was not unconvincing,
you had it pretty much down.
You actually said the name,
as if you wanted us both to believe it
but knew that neither of us did.
I'd never seen sideburns so thick,
or hair so black and slick,
the sunglasses looked the part too.
The rest of it was not as flamboyant
as The King would have wanted it to be.
I was friendly and nice
and made sure not to laugh,
but we both knew the truth,
and I really wanted
to be far from Bloem' today.
16th August 2018
Categories:
bloem, people,
Form: Free verse