They first met
in a multi-national chain.
Appropriately enough
it wasn’t too taxing
for a first date.
Anonymous
homogenous
a setting without soul to host
a tentative appraisal
two halves reaching
carefully
for a whole

As things progressed
they stepped away
from the highways to the byways;
sought intimacy and warmth
in side roads that nurtured
subtler, bijoux, discrete saloons.
A warmth and depth and character
the home you never had;
steam rising in the half-light
a fire in the snug
supportive and enveloping
like a slow and welcome hug.

When things got serious
they stopped going out.
DeLonghi and Lavazza
competed to fuel
lazy Sunday mornings
and late Saturday nights.
From an occasion to occasional
by a simple trick of light.

The last time they met
was back where it began.
A swapping of keys
for a small bag of remnants
and otherwise forgotten things.
No looks, no glances.
Anonymous
homogenous
coffee just a prop
spilt
pooling
cooling
a mark
to be wiped away
in time.
.

2013-03-25

A thought sparked by this rather marvellous doodle from Beth Fenton