A Hunch and a Dog

A memory in a twenties

One day, I may have the chance to grow old
like the senile lady in front of my house.
I may have a dog, a stairwell, a handrail,
precede and brace me to my dwelling,
but definitely I will not have you
laying a hand ahead of me.
I may have kids running around in my house,
popping in, popping out, everyday
to say a morning hi,
but definitely I will not have you
making the tea by my window in sunshine.

 

You merely, ephemerally,
appeared once in my life, afar;
I merely, ephemerally,
appeared once in your memory of mortal.

 

While sometimes I go out for a walk with my dog,
on my routine street in the evening,
the young chasing around, running across me,
friends talking away, passing by me,
I remember this is how I used to be
when I was in my twenties.
They may happen to say a passing hi to me, when they notice
a hunch and a dog.
Then, I hinder, turn around,
with a brilliant smile of ephemerality,
shimmering like yours,
like when you first saw a stranger of me
standing at your door of immortal.

 

24.08.2003, 10:55 pm, Sun.

Reviews

[Nay]

I don't know that it really fits the entire image you're giving here, but I keep taking this as a son speaking about the mother who died giving him life.

The poem is very touching. You have an elegant way of phrasing movement and environment.

[Travis Lawrence]

It's smooth and reflective, I certainly like this a lot, especially the last stanza... "I remember this is how I used to be / when I was in my twenties." I can feel the nostalgia well.

[H.]

This poem pulled at my innards. It's very powerful to ponder a moment--how fleeting it is, and how it can linger forever in our memories. And it's refreshing as well, to think of walking down the street and there be a chance that others around me might be thinking of something this elegant, doing something as mundane as just walking the dog.

This is so well-written. I don't quite grasp what you mean by your use of mortal/immortal, though. It's an odd way to use it, and it might take a few more reads for me to wrap my head around it.

[Mickey Ellison]

Whew! This evokes so much, so deep. Intimacy with a stranger that still somehow lingers. Thanks for sharing Kok. You have renewed a spark in me to seek those who are other than ephemeral.