Sit
Sit, drink your coffee here; your work can wait awhile.
You're twenty-six, and still have some of life ahead.
No need for wit; just talk vacuities, and I'll
Reciprocate in kind, or laugh at you instead.
The world is too opaque, distressing and profound.
This twenty minutes' rendezvous will make my day:
To sit here in the sun, with grackles all around,
Staring with beady eyes, and you two feet away.
Commentary
I love this poem by Seth. It hit me hard when I first read it. I realised that so much of my communication is done electronically these days and it has gotten so cryptic and purpose-driven over time that I’d almost forgotten what it was like to spend an afternoon ‘talking vacuities’. I like it also because it reminds me of my friends from college and university … with whom I spent many such twenty minute rendezvous … and the nostalgia of being back in Bombay just sweeps me away (sigh).
Some day I’ll make it happen again. A trip to Prithvi Theatre maybe, two cups of coffee, two friends and a twenty minute rendezvous :).
— Salima
Minstrels Links
Vikram Seth:
Poem #650, All You Who Sleep Tonight
Poem #754, Protocols
Poem #460, Round and Round