Sunday, February 28, 2010

Quixotic

quixotic \kwik-SOT-ik\ , adjective; Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals.

A Brooklyn apartment with laundry room, dishwasher, and a clean tub that never needs Drano, all included. Office snow days and coffee for a dollar with free refills; a bar where every other drink is on the house. Mangoes that don't over-ripen; an oven that works; knives that cut without sawing. Spending time with the ones that will soon leave, before they do. Realizing when a moment is important before it passes and making that moment last, making it count in its singular beauty. Having good things coincide like new romance when the roads are closed and the cupboards are full and snow is falling outside. Like driving cross country, stopping at every diner along the way and taking a coffee mug from each - just to remember it all by. Sailing the Mediterranean. Sleeping outside under blankets and the stars. Opening a cafe. Looking around and thinking you couldn't have done it any better.


Panjandrum

Panjandrum\pan-JAN-druhm\ , noun:
An important personage or pretentious official.

I can hear the drums already. He is coming.
It is thunderous as a storm. The ground rumbles. Or is it that I am shaking?
I look out the window towards the horizon, where I cannot yet see his approach. I feel a bit like Rapunzel, waiting for her prince, only I do not want to let down my hair. I do not want to be found. Or saved. I do not need to be rescued.
The space around me vibrates and I watch as picture frames fall over. I look around my room, wanting to take in everything. The simple lines of shelves and bookcases, the soft expanse of the bed, the solid stature of the desk with pen and paper and ink. The simplicity and order of everything.
The pages of a notebook flutter and shift. The mirror tilts. I look at my reflection, askew.
The day has come.