An Ode to Small Talk

A poem about perspective

Emily Wilcox
ILLUMINATION

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Photo by Freddie Collins on Unsplash

Let’s talk about the weather, shall we?
Give it the respect that it deserves.
Not moan about the drizzly sky,
Or why wind gets on your nerves.

But discuss the curves of sunlight,
As it streaks across your lawn.
Or the gentle breeze that flutters in,
Through your window near to dawn.

Let’s chat about the traffic, eh?
But not groan that it’s too long.
Don’t jab at all the other cars,
As if they are in the wrong.

Instead, talk about the people inside,
And where they might be going.
Smile at the little old lady there,
In the passenger seat with her sewing.

Let’s not berate the nature of things,
These classic human trials.
Don’t moan that things are in motion,
Or stood still after only two miles.

The traffic and the weather,
They don’t exist to twist your soul.
They’re staple parts of this lifetime of ours,
Signs that actually – we’re whole.

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Emily Wilcox
ILLUMINATION

In a parallel universe I imagine I’m an astro-archaeologer or an orange cat (either way, I’m curled up on the moon) but here, and forever, I’m a storyteller.