~A DATE WITH LONELINESS~

Sitting in a little
café sipping cappuccino,
her heart reflected
in steamy curls is as blue as
the sky in the old
Van Gough painting that
hangs crooked on
the wooden style wall.

With loneliness her
only company as fat flakes
silently fall painting
winter on the charcoal canvas
of night she fishes in her
purse for her pen and

pad of paper she carries
with her like a little girl and
her blankie and she begins
writing a conversation
poem to ease the lack of chatter.

Midway through the poem,
laughter of the little
old couple sitting at the corner
table catches her senses
and a single tear rolls down
her cheek splashing the word love

on her paper and she makes
a wish, like a school girl, on
that tear for a love filled with
length and laughter much like that
little old couple believing
that just maybe wishes do come true.

The clock on the brown
wall ticks eight o'clock as she
bleeds the last word,
picks herself up dressing winter

to match the crisp night air
and shuffles to her car
leaving loneliness at
the bottom of her empty cup.

© January 15, 2006 Karen Davies