No Advance Notice

I arrived without advance notice
capping the day with best regards.

I made it my desire to be perfect in play,
completing my charter in this act,
because tonight I am the mistaken guest
who is given a seat of honor at the table.

No excuse is required --
my secret has been revealed
and I have already been “found out.”

We shall tell stories
that tickle the funny bone
about this fait acompli
and how it was rigged all along
so that our arrival here
would be a surprise.

My fingers hit the keys
in sensible order,
spelling out a message
for all eyes across time:
the puzzle pieces
have been put in place.

I sigh in relief at this end,
seeing, at last, the one self
I have puzzled together
into a life worthy of the moment
and that requires no advance notice
to be given a seat of honor at the banquet.

Talis Wong welcomed me as a second guest of honor at the table reserved for Judith Delozier and the students who were attending her class in Hong Kong. Strangely, I had written this poem a few days before hand. Judy and I had talked about meeting in Hong Kong, but made no specific plan until I arrived. So, the poem was prescient. I had written the poem to express a feeling of welcome from life and did not have the meet-up with Judy in mind.

Prose and Poem © Nick LeForce
All Rights Reserved