A monthly column from Maurice Spillane of Poetry Swindon
I’ve dark feelings when winter clouds are grey and miserable over Swindon
Even the dog is laconic, still wants his walks, happy to jump in the stream but cringes when I unravel the hose. The garden paths are slippery, been on a list for weeks, but I’ve no energy to hose them while it’s raining. I could go on.
Then I enter a pub or shop or café and my mood is lifted by a lovely smile, such as the server in Lidl, Greenbridge, who smiled and said “follow me” when I couldn’t find batteries; the smiler in Phone Fixers who fixed my phone and wouldn’t charge me; the Brazilian barbers in Excellent Cut who like winter; the ushers in Empire Cinema who really, really want you to have a nice day.
But the best is Emilie and colleagues in Choppers (A338 just after Burbage). Great food, reasonable prices, big smiles. On a cold, wet morning, that’s the place to be for breakfast. Here are a few stanzas from “Your Smile” which I composed there:
The open and close of a café
door,
the lift of your eyes, and the
soft rush
to your smile like a great big
magnet pulsing
heartbeats, my adolescent
blush.
I wonder what magic exudes
such warmth,
replicates your smile with
another’s, does for
the inconsequent, as
comfortable
as removing shoes by an open
door.
I searched the Impressionists
for such smiles
but found few, perhaps Mona Lisa’s
form blending
the edge between colours
in a soft transitional
smile, but nothing of your warmth.
This is how we see ourselves
and each other
when we greet: Sunshine and
open doors,
dashed embargoes, opening
teasers,
all of these because of your
smile, and more.
More information about Maurice can be found on his website at www.mauricespillane.co.uk
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