Coffee Shop

Finally, here’s our (optional) prompt for the day. Begin by reading Charles Simic’s poem “The Melon.” It would be easy to call the poem dark, but as they say, if you didn’t have darkness, you wouldn’t know what light is. Or vice versa. The poem illuminates the juxtaposition between grief and joy, sorrow and reprieve. For today’s challenge, write a poem in which laughter comes at what might otherwise seem an inappropriate moment – or one that the poem invites the reader to think of as inappropriate.

Today’s prompt was a great one, and I highly recommend the poem that it references, “The Melon” by Charles Simic. I had never heard of it before but it’s astounding.

Unfortunately, after a long day at work I struggled to muster up the energy to try and live up to the challenge of juxtaposing emotions like that.

Instead, I tried to write about an image from the day. I went out for lunch with my work colleagues. On the way out, I caught a glimpse of two women at a coffee table. One was older and had a computer open, and the other was younger and looking a bit distracted. I briefly overheard the older woman talking as we passed and it half-sounded like she was interviewing the girl. I looked again at the girl’s face. She was barely listening to the woman, and looked neither happy nor sad, but at peace, like what was happening in that moment really didn’t matter to her either way. I remember feeling admiration for her, to be able to be so detached and ‘above’ the situation, when job interviews are typically something that cause me a lot of stress! Of course, this all happened in a few seconds so I could have totally mis-read the situation!

A lack of concern, coffees without milk
and drips from the bronze ceiling pipes.
Resume on display and necktie of silk
A bitter, half-eaten apple, unripe

And rejected at first bite. The stern-
faced manager, winding down
The interview
At last.