Trigger*

seeing you define your space
the patrons and the din
of the happy and misguided
together for the purpose
mutual and practical combined
for the average evening
of both joy and pain

the mundane dialect
observed and ignored
for the benefit of both
routine. contrived. required.
your work the common denominator
between the imagined and the real
a means to an end

the small talk and familiarity
melding into the course of the day
the necessary evil
driving the driven and the dead
to the usual pockets of the table
predefined upon arrival
based on routine and function

the hello and usual greetings
tailored to the demeanor
of the eyes which sit before you
both known or otherwise
as if time absorbed you both
with a smile or a whisper
you continue the dance

the sun, set or shining
does not deter the words
initiated by you
from the beginning
as the friend or the shoulder
required by the moment
which makes us whole

the world revolving on your word
the mood responding to your own
behind the granite of your stand
defining an evening
despite who sits before you
or the words which are exchanged
the stage your own, responding only to you.

* for Katie and Natalie