Author: tq1695

Most of my life has been spent on the bench, occasionally called into the game by extravagance or attenuation. Waiting has turned a loner into a recorder - nondescript and inconsequential, more not noticed than overlooked - the non-vantage point of children not yet considered old enough to understand. Orphaned Islands (Un)poetry is a lifetime of picking anecdotes up and not throwing them away. Stories collected like odds and ends placed in a box in the basement, the garage, the garden shed - uncertain as to what their use might be but knowing that one day there might be one.

Before the Rain

Quotidian

Posted on February 13, 2017February 12, 2017 by tq1695

I wait at the back
while the name speakers pour coffee
and select the biggest muffins.

The conference circuit crush –
my first – their zillionth.
…“haven’t seen you since.”
…..“ just about to be published”
………“ how is everything in The Bay.”

Name tagged and proud,
I am the man
in Elton John’s Candle in the Wind
overawed and from the 22nd row.

In a hotel ballroom
I listen to
forex dealers on currency hedging,
entomologists on biological control,
plant physiologists on nutrient uptake,
agricultural engineers on irrigation,
managers on funding.

At the third break
two luminaries are in deep conversation
over the, what did this cost carpet I creep
hoping to eavesdrop wisdom
or the future.

“We’re eating at the Rutherford
and going to Malone’s afterward.
hope the next bit doesn’t go on too long.”

Before the Rain

To the Good.

Posted on February 10, 2017August 5, 2017 by tq1695

I would like to say I figured it out –
first principles,
evidence,
deduction,
conclusion. But I didn’t.

Mike said, “ thanks for the refractometer ”
and
“wouldn’t mind using it next time.”
Then winked.
Penny dropping –
payout on a poker machine …. coins tumbling everywhere.

The balance of the universe : reparation
night / day
frost / sunshine
winter / summer
gotcha / tip off.

He told me about the small pickup –
the only diesel vehicle in the fleet.
Written on the key
and the tank …. “but …”
Said I might find myself using it …. needing fuel. I did.

To the Good is a sequel to Fine Print– posted Feb 8, 2017

Before the Rain

Fine Print

Posted on February 8, 2017February 8, 2017 by tq1695

Mea culpa …. I didn’t ask,
didn’t think to ask,
didn’t even think about, thinking about asking.

The refractometer was heavy in my hand
dense
solid
precise … and one touch responsive –
the doors of a fine automobile, or expensive dwelling.

Recording sugar levels of just orphaned fruit –
a real task,
with a real instrument.
So unlike the tired practicals
and toy devices of university.

“ Any chance ……”
new, eager to belong – “sure.”

The first time : a head nodded at the sign.
After use equipment must be cleaned
and
returned to from where it was collected.
I did. And did.

Next time.
“No.”
“No”– coiled and waiting –
a cat for a bird, a dog for the mail man.
The lab technician said it had been returned late –
said I hadn’t returned it when I said I would.
I had …. but had on loaned it to someone …. from the other side.

Fine Print is a sequel to Declare – posted Feb 6, 2017