Advantages of Restaurants
Food quality has dropped,
Price rises have not stopped,
Selections are decreased,
Most portions aren’t a feast.
Yet still I have to say
I didn’t cook today.
The Most Educational Dinner
If I could welcome any five folks from world history,
To dinner, where the only other person would be me,
From years of thought, here are the people I believe I’d bring—
Mother Theresa, Jesus, Moses, Lincoln, Dr. King.
A Dream Pursued
To chase your dream, fear can’t impede,
Regardless of the chances.
For even if you don’t succeed,
You aren’t your circumstances.
The Change One Word Can Bring
The woman at the restaurant, her life to us unknown,
We could not draw conclusions from the tiny snapshot shown.
But we could not help noticing that she was all alone,
And she ate her whole meal just staring sadly at her phone.
We had no pepper, unlike her, so I asked if she’d share,
And being next to us she nodded yes, but with despair.
Whatever was depressing her, that phone held how she’d fare,
She clearly wanted something badly, but it wasn’t there.
We wished for some idea that perhaps could make her day.
She then looked up as we arose to take our coats and pay.
I told her she was pretty—an impromptu thing to say.
A smile replaced her frown—and then she put her phone away.
Russel Winick started writing poetry after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.
What a delightful group of poems, Russel! Especially, I take heart for pursuing my dream from your casually encouraging line, “You aren’t your circumstances.” I’m fascinated as well by your choice of guests for your dream dinner. I’m sure you’ve already been well educated by thinking over lives and words of these five. In-person meetings raise the level to marvelous, as I recall from visiting you. As for restaurants, I agree, and find that even the serving staff may appreciate that personal word.
Thank you, Margaret, for your lovely comments. I’m glad that you enjoyed the poems.
I am particularly drawn to the last poem about encouraging a stranger. Of course, you have me wondering about the use of “we,” and whether or not the other person was your wife and what explanation you may have had to give her.
Dear Detective Peterson :
Yes, the other half of “we” was my wife, who in our forty years together has never once exhibited any jealousy about anything, nor need she, except, perhaps, towards wives with better husbands!
It’s hard to argue with your choice of dinner guests, although I’d include Shakespeare.
And it’s impossible to argue with that choice too, Cheryl. Thanks for weighing in.
Four very enjoyable poems Russel. Being someone who doesn’t enjoy cooking, I totally relate to the first poem. I really liked “A Dream Pursued”, appreciating how you can condense an interesting thought into four short rhyming, rhythmical lines.
Thank you for your thoughts, Norma. Much appreciated!
Your last poem paints a perfect picture of what I see so often. Usually it’s an older person sitting alone in a booth. I like how the narrator reaches out to her. Good example for the rest of us.
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
Great comment Gerard. Here, we were the older folks, and the lonely woman was maybe thirty. I hope I really did make her day, or more.
I loved The Change One Word Can Make. A poem of out times, and anti-phone. What more could you want.
Your restaurant poem reminded me of a Hagar the Horrible cartoon. Hagar and Lucky Eddie are eating at an inn. Hagar says in one frame, “The food here’s terrible.” In the next frame he complains, “And such small portions!”
Thanks for the nuggets, Russel.
Thanks Paul. I’m glad you liked those poems. And FYI, the setting for “The Change One Word Can Bring” was the buffet restaurant at our hotel during our recent visit to London.
The final piece is excellent. You’ve given us a poetic narrative with a poignant scene and message. The key part is you leave us wanting to know more: what was on that phone?
Thanks Adam. I’m guessing it had something to do with a romantic relationship, because the immediate change from her steady frown to the huge smile suggested that being told she was pretty was exactly what she needed to hear at that time. I’ll always wonder and never know.