A Perspective
︎︎︎ Joseph Cross
︎ SEPT 21, 2021
The fantasy of other people,
Of just having that reprieve.
The poet with her scone and tea and bag,
Settling in and later nicely deciding
It’s time.
This girl studying, it’s all very cutely
Serious and contained, observable because we
Are not that any longer.
This guy’s on his way to Boston,
Wouldn’t that be nice—to have
Something to do with Boston?
Those reflections of course
In our naive bliss, our lethe
From what we have actually learned.
A person still can play their games
And feel the gentle private sweetness
Of thought, the soft pain of yearning.
Of just having that reprieve.
The poet with her scone and tea and bag,
Settling in and later nicely deciding
It’s time.
This girl studying, it’s all very cutely
Serious and contained, observable because we
Are not that any longer.
This guy’s on his way to Boston,
Wouldn’t that be nice—to have
Something to do with Boston?
Those reflections of course
In our naive bliss, our lethe
From what we have actually learned.
A person still can play their games
And feel the gentle private sweetness
Of thought, the soft pain of yearning.
Joseph Cross writes poetry and fiction. His work has appeared in Silent Auctions Magazine and Extension, a journal of anthropology. He lives in Easton, Connecticut and grew up in Washington, DC.