Some of us were arriving, hungry
impatient, while others had eaten
and were leaving, bidding goodbye
to our friends, and among us
stood a pretty woman, blind,
her perfect fingers interwoven
about the top of her cane,
and she was bending forward,
open eyed, to find the knotted lips
of a man whose disfigured face
had been assembled out of scars
and who was leaving, hurrying off,
and though their kiss was brief
and askew and awkwardly pursed,
we all received it with a kind of
wonder, and kept it on our lips
through the afternoon.
~ Ted Kooser, “At Arby’s, At Noon“. Splitting an Order (Cooper Canyon Press, 2014)
Mr. Awesomeness aka Ted Kooser. In less than 100 words, he puts you at the scene at Arby’s and makes you feel.
Image Source: TheSensualStarfish
Live & Learn 
Truly ‘Mr. Awesomeness’.
LikeLiked by 2 people
He is!
LikeLike
Absolutely lyric.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Absolutely” everything. He included this poem on the back of the book cover of his new book. It so captures his work for me. A plain speaking but magic-man with words writing at dawn:
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wouldn’t it be grand to sit down and share a cup of coffee and a few observations with this fellow? I am enthralled by his ease with language and the ways in which he (seemingly) effortlessly paints a word picture that compels us to stand, stock still, and marvel….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, yes, yes…it would be. Or take one of his morning walks and see if I can see the same things he is able to see, take the ordinary and turn it to magic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
One word comes to mind when I read his poems, presence.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Like that….
LikeLike
Beautiful… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
power in every word –
LikeLiked by 1 person
there is…
LikeLike
Savoring the beauty of that exchange…
LikeLiked by 1 person
and to observe that and get it down in words….MAGIC
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m new, and so thankful! Your post/blog/repost – the opening ‘thread’, beginning stitch……… Naomi Shihab Nye, putting me at ‘the gates of hope’, Words and Pictures, poetry, and murmurations, Ted Kooser ……………………… lol……. beyond feeling blessed with a bounty of enriching moments tonight. Thank You, David Kanigan, Thank You!
🙂
LikeLike
Hi. So glad that you are enriched but the same bounty of moments that I was. Thank you for sharing!
LikeLike