From this seat, a small window
frames the street; a door swings
on its hinges. Who’s to know
what its welcome brings?
Here comes a backpack with a laptop
looking for a what-not.
Is it be-bop, is it hip-hop?
… it’s a cool cat at a hot spot.
Here comes a white shirt with dark glasses
collared by a black tie.
It’s the business look that passes,
as a brief case of who am I?
… Doors are trained in etiquette,
… so welcome those they’ve not yet met.
© Tim Grace, 8 April 2011
To the reader: With the opening of a door comes the expectation of new arrival. Door swings, or slides, and for a moment frames a fresh character. The first impression is squared-off, measured-up; allotted to its fit. A nameless no-one becomes someone given presence. That someone’s arrival bears the mark of carriage; deportment. The doorway delivers another entrance.
To the poet: In my poetry, the thematic presence of ‘this seat’ is recurring. It’s not always the same ‘this seat’ but as a place-holder it’s a common anchor point. Observing the world requires an authentic perspective; ‘this seat’ is its vantage point. Not all poems need a sense of location but occasionally it helps to give the reader a reference point; so the poet-observer is placed within the narrative – passively evident.
so welcome
One More Sonnet 