The Zen Guide to Eating Out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

I have eaten out several times with friends lately, and it was a real tonic, especially as I have not been feeling too well. It doesn’t have to cost a lot either.

Whether the meal is excellent, average or could be better…there’s nothing quite like eating out (or in) with old friends. We chat a lot (with or amongst each other, not on our phones!) which is all part of the fun. Mobile phones are great in SO many ways, BUT you can't beat face-to-face conversation. Some people, especially among the young, should try it more often while we older ones need to lead more by example lest it become an all but forgotten art.

This poem is a villanelle. [OK, I take a few liberties with 'hidden' rhyme - as regular readers will know I am inclined from time to time - but isn't that a poet's prerogative...?]

THE ZEN GUIDE TO EATING OUT

Welcoming and airy,
ever a good place to eat,
cue for good company

Bubbles of memory,
seducing us on the street,
welcoming and airy

A hint of strawberry
worthy of a summer meet,
cue for good company

Shades of a history,
regular Sandman’s beat,
welcoming and airy

Heavens, an eternity
to argue, ponder and wait,
cue for good company

A scrumptious reality
for mind, body, and spirit,
welcoming and airy,
cue for good company

Copyright R. N. Taber 2005; 2018

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in A Feeling for the Quickness of Time by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2005. I posted a revised version on the blog in 2014 and have recently revised again in the light of critical feedback from readers, which I always take seriously.]