A SPECIAL DINNER
Task 49, February 13 to February 20
THE FOLLOWING IS AN HOMAGE TO THE POEM BY JOSHUA DE SHUTTER. YOU CAN FIND THE ORIGINAL ON INSTAGRAM @ JOSHUASPOETRY.
I had dinner with myself 73 times last night. They all showed up, each year of my life.
Me at 15? Acned and pissed, stared at his plate.
31 could only talk about his job.
10 was distracted and uneasy. He was wearing a bandage on his hand.
55 jabbered on about his youngest son, who played soccer.
21 was worried about his GPA.
44 was broke and his wife was pregnant.
37 was lonely, single and wondering.
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8 wanted to leave the table and go outside and play.
58 needed reassurance.
28 looked around for his pregnant wife.
43 was beaming–he was newly wed.
66 joints cracked uncomfortably.
13 ate everything on his plate and he was still hungry.
50 was melancholy.
26 wondered if there was a career for him.
40 beamed. He was hitting his stride.
71 was content, but should he retire?
33 comforted 71.
5 looked for his mother.
17 wanted a girl to notice him. Any girl.
22 was bursting with impatience.
48 told 22 to cool it.
14 wondered what an avocado tasted like, so he asked 23.
54 was thinking about his mother.
I looked at my collected selves, the young, the old and the middle age. I saw the passage of age, the dreams both fulfilled and shattered, the blossoming of knowledge, the stress of parenthood, the passion of love, the shattering pain of death; if I could gather my 73 selves, what would I say?
I wouldn’t say anything. I would just smile.
TASK: Imagine you could have dinner with your previous selves.