This is Episode 81 of Poems for the Speed of Life.

Today's poem is "In a Restaurant" by Stephen Santus.

Stephen Santus is an English teacher and poet. His influences include the Japanese forms of haiku and tanka — the tanka is typically 31 syllables over five lines, the haiku even shorter at 17 over three, each form aiming to capture something tiny and vast — and his late, great, raw compatriot Philip Larkin, who had "the ability to sneak deep truths past you when you think you are just having a pint and a chat at the bar".

This poem carries something of those influences — short in form but deep in truth.

⁠⁠⁠⁠You can read the poem here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Music Credit:

Once Upon a Time by Alex-Productions | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://onsound.eu/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  | Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com