poem © Jeffrey Beaty
January 31, 2011 — 1:45am
20 lines
Like most of my poetry from the past, this is a little bit of wallowing in depression it seems. I don’t write much poetry anymore. I don’t know if that means I’m less depressed or less creative than I once was.
To any old friends who are reading this and might feel uncomfortable… Don’t. The poem is a bit of maudlin dribble, but it is also secretly enjoying past versions of ourselves, and is merely an experiment in writing.
Anyway, I kind of like this bit of reminiscing about old friends. In part I like the structure of choppy sentences, its reference to “in jokes” that no one else would get, and the way it turns at the end to wonder if others ever feel the same.
IT WAS NICE KNOWING YOU WHEN by Jeffrey Beaty
It was nice knowing you when
you had a little time
to waste a little time
and it wasn’t thought a waste then.
It was nice knowing you when
we could talk lots of shit
in mock battles of wit
and all that died was my muffin.
It was nice knowing you when
there were dreams to be shared
and I thought you kind of cared
if I came or went then.
It was nice knowing you when
we all could talk for hours
and share mind-reading powers,
at least that’s how it seemed then.
Now time runs on and paths they stray,
leaving me to feel the has-been.
Do you ever think of me and say:
“It was nice knowing you when?”