Sunday, February 28, 2016

Garden Party (2009)

I attended your garden party
uncertain of your invitation
I saw the garish blooms you grew
and listened while you told about
the problems of your latest projects
wordlessly I listened

I saw tanks of helium
and clowns, inflating red balloons
one small boy who lost his cried
I sympathized with him and wished
that I could fly away from here
following his balloon

a company at your command
performed your little one-act play
I overheard the words "revealed
on stage in acts demonstrative
one encounters characters
more intimate than life"

I thought, how apropos the words
how poignantly ironic
given our previous dramas 
you moved on to other roles
and left me with few words
I'd rewrite if I could

how comforting a garden party
in one's own well-planned garden
how difficult to know one's lines
when one's script is withheld
and how it all makes one wary
of future invitations