Evening at Joe`s

The blazer came on.
he ran his fingers through his long hair ,
wore his black polished shoes
looked at himself in the mirror,
his black trousers with the black jacket
the white shirt with the thin black tie
it was the usual, which still seemed to turn faces
and get those second looks that made these evenings more exciting


"Good evening Ladies and Gentleman
Welcome to Joe`s and we hope you have a lovely evening"

Every night he started with the same line
at the simply named overly charged restaurant
habitually adjusted his black tie
and began with the first song for the evening
a slow number to set the mood
for the innumerable families and couples who had come to have a good time

In between Elvis and Billy Joel
those slender legs held up by cindrella`s heels
walked in and sat alone at the end
her knee length black dress
seemed to kiss every inch of her skin not wanting to let go
the diamond necklace a passionate lover embracing her neck, dazzling in her love
those slender long earrings on the sides of her face
wanting to be as close to her supple cherubic face as she might allow
For the first time he struck the wrong note on his guitar

lost in his notes she seemed to smile
at each of his strung strings
his eyes never left her her eyes dazzling with innocence
filling the room with a warmth that only her touch could explain
then..
then suddenly the entire world around him seemed to stop
the noise had been drowned for nothing could be heard
all seemed to be lost and only she seemed to be there
when her eyes met his and stopped
his strings moved
his lips sang
but his heart stopped.

The door swung open again this time
a hurried walk, a hug and a kiss later
his heart didn`t want to beat this again
the man his age , smartly dressed in a suit
seemed to be one of those bankers
that had everything insured and every step mapped

The noise sprung up again and he seemed to drown
the evening was half way through and his fingers felt tired
the aroma was now filled with the dishes being served
It was another evening at Joe`s

He adjusted his tie and started the evening
syllables were only met with the clinging chandeliers
the whispers were louder and the queer dishes were the usual
then.. it happened
she walked in again in a silken purple gown
her neck adorned with pearls

She sat at the same table
lost in trouble that hid her innocence today
hey eyes still enthralled him
his mind lead his eyes elsewhere but his heart kept winning
the evening was coming to an end
he was surprised to find her company had not arrived
as he was about to finish he looked at the back and saw that she had left

The tie was made tighter and the syllables started
She came in a white dress
sat at the same table ,
her innocence sparkled ,
then he feared it would all happen again
the mind over came and his eyes didn`t veer towards her

She came on evenings and sat there on the table
some days troubled, some days dazzling as ever
her company did not arrive
but she sat through each evening

One evening as he ended he tightened his tie
till he couldn`t anymore
then as he took of his guitar and looked up
she stood there in front of him, in her red dress.
it stopped, the mind had disappeared
alll he could muster was " I hope you enjoyed your evening"

She looked into his eyes, smiled
she said " the food isn`t great here,
the ambiance can get stifling,
its you that keeps bringing me back here "