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Meeting Geoff in the Plaza

I don't have to sit there long
Before someone I know
Stops to have a coffee with me -
It's that kind of plaza
With cafe tables and plane trees

And now Geoff swings by
And we get to talk about
His latest work, his painting
Of a suicide bombing in a cafe
In the Middle East and how people
Sat there chatting like us
And then they were just... meat,
And what was it that had gone?
I don't see how he'll get this
Question into a painting, but I'm
Sure Geoff does. There's a way
That art has of taking us
Out of ourselves and out of time,
Stopping all the clocks. But
These days, as Geoff now says,
It's frightening how little time
People spend looking at a
Painting in an art gallery,
Even a Renoir. Can a poem
Get more attention? Maybe less.
But in any case, here's Geoff, the artist,
Pulling up his chair next to mine,
Catching the waiter's eye,
Making his debut in a poem,

A poem that's like a cafe table
In a plaza, where anyone
Can hang out, take their time...
Before getting on with their day,
And not get blown away.

 

If you'd like to know more about Geoff MacEwan and his art, please visit his blog "Narrativas Rotas".

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