Remember how we used to do it—
weaving through the crowd, brushing
shoulders, fingers touching a sleeve,
adjusting a lapel—first an old friend here,
then turn to banter with a stranger, finding
odd connections—“You’re from where?...You
know her!”—going deeper into story there, leaning
back in wonder, bending close to whisper, secrets
hidden in the hubbub, as if in the middle of this
melee you have found a room and lit a lamp…
then the roar of the crowd comes back,
someone singing out a name, another
bowing with a shriek of laughter,
slap on the back, bear hug void
of fear? Imagine!
Just imagine.
~ from Singer Come From Afar (Red Hen Press 2021)
