1. Introduction [100 poems challenge]

1.          Introduction

A handshake and exchange of names;
Find shared interests, mutual friends,
Describe the nature of our work,
Tell of travel, where we’ve lived.
Then to small talk—this and that—
And weather as a last resort;
You move on, and sad to say,
I’ve forgotten who you said you were.

21 April 2013

Comments: I’m afraid I’m not good at meeting and remembering people, and this poem is an accurate depiction of what often happens to me. I have become better at small talk over the years, but I still haven’t mastered the art of hanging on to a person’s moniker for more than 15 seconds after being introduced. The last line doesn’t scan as well as the others, but that kind of matches the jarring frustration that comes when I realise that the name has gone walkabout, despite being sure that I had jammed it into my brain.

Themes to come: 2. Love; 3. Light; 4. Dark; 5. Seeking Solace; 6. Break Away

Explanation about the 100 poems challenge here.