Small Stones #16 & 17

#16: At the Theatre

Two couples arrive together.

The husbands dutifully shuffle to their seats

guided by sprightly wives

with hair silver bobbed and curly white.
The men remind me of my great uncle on the farm -

Plaid shirt and crumpled polo shirt;

wispy white hair, balding;

both with sloppy suspenders

pulling up their trousers to mid-back

and exposing ankles.

Outside, milling around the lobby

boys in slouchy shirts mingle with

girls in skinny jeans and black boots.

Clad in middle aged neat attire
we take our seats in the rows 

between slouchy and suspenders.

#17: On the Train

Small hands rest on my knees.

I look up from polishing a small stone

to see a child in pink sweats with sparkle and bling.

She gazes up at me in welcome

then turns slowly to her mother in confusion.

I wonder who she was expecting.