Serenity in Solitude

The pretense of reading

Exposed as transparent,

Defeated by glowing warmth permeating:

Filtered sunlight through

Glass panes.

-

Standard coffee shop ambience –

Stiff-backed chairs

And beige checkered tables.

Clinching, an ache in the

Lower Lumbar.

-

Leisurely sips of bold roast brew,

Coupled with wafts of fresh Columbian harvest.

-

And then…slowly…

The headphone-induced euphoria

Of clear, harmonious sound;

The refrain weaves its snug web of rapturous notes

Upon submissively yearning ears.

-

Swirling sensations of taste, smell, sound, touch

Seamlessly mold in a perfect paradigm –

Only experienced in the most selective of settings.

A few transcendent moments of sheer pleasure…

Of blessed, fluid detachment…

The epitome of bliss.

-

Without warrant,

The small-faced print sparks back into existence:

Indignant at the slightest neglect.

Time resumes its locomotion at full speed,

Bellowing espresso-shot puffs of steam.

The journey of responsibility, of practicality, continues.

-

And yet…

A wandering mind longs

To return,

To disembark,

To remain

At the previous stop of nirvana –

Where but for a brief flicker of tedious temporal reality,

It knew serenity in solitude.