First Encounter

Mopping floors
Making small talk
First hours slid quietly
Following a pattern as old
As the table cloths
That she set with care

It was the daily routine
She had learned to like
After youth began to leave her
And with it the voice inside which
Clamoured for another life

She wouldn’t have expected
The twist that was about to arouse
Such a longing in her heart
When that man turned up
‘Fish and chips,
some water, please’
his words were that few
in this first encounter
Yet her imagination flew
To a memorable summer
Brought by the hand
of his strong Spanish accent

How he reminded her of him
How different life could have been
If only whispers at night
Had survived…the daylight

Autor: Juan Arencibia