I sat in a cafe                             

somewhere on the road

between yesterday and tomorrow                       

and watched a man hungrily intent                                     

on eating a steak....

I watched a woman

toy with a salad as

she gazed at the night

through the dirty window....

I watched a teenager

lifting french fries

one by one into her mouth

as each bite seemed

to nourish a new thought....

I watched an old dog

lying on the floor with

sleepy eyes watching a fly

visit the tables

without invitation

boldly in charge of its own

space and time.

All were alone

at separate tables

in their own worlds,

and I wondered what

would happen if I

invited them all,

the man and his steak

the woman and her salad, the teen

and her french fries, the dog and the fly,

to a party where dancing was the main dessert.

(Included in Through the Mist, Copyright Dudley Weeks, 2002]