A NEW YEAR'S EVE
by Robert K. Johnson
We were just good office friends;
she’d long been dating one man,
I—no one special. So when
the workday ended and someone
said the usual Eve thing—
let’s stop at a bar for a drink—
our group soon filled a booth.
The others had to catch
their commuter trains, but ours
left later, and we enjoyed
this time to talk. Like two leaves
floating downstream, we had no
idea where we were heading.
What steered us, merely by chance,
on a set course that changed
our lives was the laughter booming
from all the other booths
and smothering her soft voice.
To better hear her words,
I moved nearer, touching her shoulder,
and stirred a surprise of warmth
waiting deep inside us.
Leaning closer, we kissed
for a few seconds that lasted
as long as a slow song.
And when we opened our eyes
to an air suddenly grown
silent and serious,
we were in a foreign country
and lost, except for each other.
Copyright © 2008 by Robert K. Johnson.