Crossroads
written by: Ricky Hawthorne
@searsjames
The light changed from green to red
And there you were
Knowing me…grinning
At my stupefaction
Calling me by name
Running heavily across the traffic
Toward me, like a returning lover
At the denouement of a classic movie
‘John’, you cried and only then
I knew you
‘My God you look well,
What are we, fifty-five?’
(I play tennis oh, and gym twice a week)
‘I head the corporation now you know…
…and smart in that suit;
But you were a postman
The last time I saw you?’
(I went to college, at night, after work)
‘Yes Dad’s retired now…
…where are you living?
Really?
How did you ever afford that?’
(Sixteen hour days and sacrifice)
‘I inherit the house, of course…
…and just back from Barbados
– A second honeymoon’
(But our first, in Skeggie, was special)
‘And the car and the Cretan Villa…and…’
Your conversation evaporated
Like a plump dewdrop
Pricked by a sunbeam
Yes these things were yours long ago
My patron, my king
And here where all roads meet
We will always measure the distance
So we shook hands
For the first time
The lights had changed
You went west, I east,
But what I didn’t tell you was
That I’d done it all for you
Graduate of Warwick University
Triple honors in Literature, Theater and Film
- Detonation - September 14, 2023
- Con—Text - April 19, 2023
- Addiction - July 13, 2021
