07:30, and I'm the first to arrive,
Staking out the best table,
Positioned strategically
So the entire room is visible.
I curl up by the window,
Admiring the sun rising through the trees,
Watching the city awaken in waves
Of yawning pedestrians.
Chopin's waltzes
Pirouette in my ears,
And Serge Gainsbourg
Stares out the window next to me
Puff-puffing away
Sur un petit café.
I see everyone
Who walks through the door.
I know what time to expect them.
Of course,
They have no idea:
No idea at all
That I have code names for each one of them,
That I keep a list in my notebook,
Marking them Here when they walk in;
That I wait for them
Just to observe them;
That I notice when they arrive late, early,
Or not at all;
That I wonder
What's keeping them;
That the volume in my headphones is purposely low
To hear the conversations around me...
... Or that the reason
I've walked to the counter for water
Ten times
In as many minutes
Is because I wanted
To look closer at you,
However briefly...
******* people watching every morning at a coffee shop where I used to spend WAY too much time. :-)
Serge Gainsbourg - "L'Hôtel Particulier": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et0NCm1q4Mo
Also:
Frédéric Chopin - "Waltz, Op. 64 No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor"
