Missed Connections
We were on the L train.
You were reading Fifty Shades of Gray;
I was reading One Hundred Years of Solitude.
You never looked up until just as I moved off,
always looking back your way and hoping
you would lift your head.
And then you did, at the last moment,
but someone said, "Move it!" and I
rushed off the train. I looked back
to see your quizzical face looking at me.
There was no chance for a smile.
Home, I wrote an ad on Craigslist's
'Missed Connections'; describing you.
and I ended it with the usual:
"If you see this and remember me,
get in touch." I decided to read
You were reading Fifty Shades of Gray;
I was reading One Hundred Years of Solitude.
You never looked up until just as I moved off,
always looking back your way and hoping
you would lift your head.
And then you did, at the last moment,
but someone said, "Move it!" and I
rushed off the train. I looked back
to see your quizzical face looking at me.
There was no chance for a smile.
Home, I wrote an ad on Craigslist's
'Missed Connections'; describing you.
and I ended it with the usual:
"If you see this and remember me,
get in touch." I decided to read
the book you were reading.
But it missed all the real
accoutrements of S&M -- the way
that people really master and slave
each other. The way you don't need
strange black leather clothes,
and toys -- whips, paddles, and
St. Andrew's crosses; the way instead
that one person obeys and the
other commands. The daily rites
of loving someone you overpower,
who overpowers you.
And as I read, I missed some things:
beautiful women rising to heaven;
young men being taken to see
ice for the first time.
accoutrements of S&M -- the way
that people really master and slave
each other. The way you don't need
strange black leather clothes,
and toys -- whips, paddles, and
St. Andrew's crosses; the way instead
that one person obeys and the
other commands. The daily rites
of loving someone you overpower,
who overpowers you.
And as I read, I missed some things:
beautiful women rising to heaven;
young men being taken to see
ice for the first time.
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Other stories by Philip F. Clark
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Such painfully honest loneliness.
"the way
that people really master and slave
each other."
Such depth in these lines. ****
"The daily rites
of loving someone you overpower,
who overpowers you."
Yes. *
"You never looked up until I just got off,"
This line and the title connect so well.
"beautiful women rising to heaven;
young men being taken to see
ice for the first time."
Gabo would like this poem.
*
ice happens
Enjoyed
The L train is sadness personified.*
You have access, the door is open to you and you open it for others to see. I love the way I feel after reading your work. I feel better, feel more.
That means a lot to me, Dianne. Thank you.
*, Philip. The sadness of missed connections. Nicely done.
So nice, Philip.
Fun.