poem of the day 04.07.11

let downs

he comes up behind me
in the english restaurant

surprises me by shouting my last name
as my wife and i are putting back irish cider
and waiting on dinner

i didn’t even know that he knew my last name

he says he wants us to meet his wife

says it’ll be great because he
tells her about us all of the time

we know him from the bar
where we exchange conversation
while sucking down the liquid courage
we need to face the world

only his wife doesn’t let him
go into the bar much anymore

we don’t know why

we suspect it may have something to do
with their five year-old kid asking questions
about where his daddy is at on a wednesday night

my wife and i are not so sure that meeting us
will really make his wife’s day
despite what she’s heard about us

there’s a stigma when your associated
with a bar

besides, my wife tells him,
we’re a let down in the flesh

no, no he says
it’ll be good

besides she’s already drunk

he goes over to get her
we watch his table for movement
letting the ciders sit until this is over

shortly, they get up
our bar friend, his wife, their boy

he helps her with her coat
then begins pointing
and leading her over our way

when they are at our table
he makes the introductions
but forgets to name names
so we don’t know what to call her

my wife and i assume that she knows
our names by now

the five year-old gets between all of us
angling for attention

he trips the wife

she and the kid go flying into our table
knocking the irish cider pints
but not spilling them too much

we all sit and stand there for a few moments
making small talk

we are nothing special to each other

such let downs on this saturday night

his wife tells us again
that it was nice to meet us

we say likewise
having no cause not to believe her

then they leave the restaurant
and we go back to drinking our cider

wondering what it was
that we were talking about
before he came over and surprised me.