Harmonic Convergence or Let’s Do Lunch

It was to be a Super Perigee Moon
Which occurs very rarely
Maybe once every twenty years or so
Or so I am told
And so I began to realize
That the sun, stars and moon
Were all in alignment
For special things
To happen
I had not seen my friends
Douglas and Prue
In almost a decade
Such long absences
Are not good
Where friendship
Is concerned
Like a plant
Friendships need
Husbandry and loving care
If they are to survive and thrive
Neglected too long
They tend wither on the vine

But not this time!
Douglas e-mailed me
Out of the blue
A week or so
Before the Perigee Moon
Was to make her appearance
To say
“Let’s do lunch!”

Yes, I said
Great idea
But how to make it happen?
Doug and his wife Prue
Were going to be sailing
Into Philadelphia
Like the Comet Haley Bop
Depending on whether or not
They get out of jail
After demonstrating
Against the war
At a rally in D.C.
To take place
That same weekend
(Which war
Were they going
To protest?
Well, suppose
You just take your pick).
That same day
The USA, France and England
Started bombing
The country of Libya
I guess that was Prez Obama’s reply
To all the protesters
Who only wanted to get themselves
A little peace
(Talk about
Your harmonic convergences)
How ironic

So trying to hook up with
Doug and Prue
Would be like trying to lasso
A bucking steer by the horns
While at full gallop
No easy trick
Even for a trained
Rodeo cowboy
Needless to say
I am not a trained
Rodeo cowboy
I am more like
An untrained
Rodeo clown
But their visit was timed
To coincide
With the Super Perigee Moon
A harmonic convergence
Of cosmic proportions
And all of the augurs and signs
Were all most auspicious
So I was feeling optimistic
To say the least
A rarity for me
The worlds’ biggest believer
In the sanctity of Murphy’s Law
Nuff said

A mutual friend
Betsy Robertson
Was to be the mid wife
Of this cosmic
Rendez-vous
Even though
She said that she had to be in Jenkintown
Precisely at a quarter
To three

Good thing Betsy had her daughter
Lilly
To keep her on her toes
When the planned meeting day
Finally arrived
Everything went off
Without a hitch
So to speak
Thanks to the Super Perigee Moon
And Betsy’s mid wifery
And Lilly’s steadyfastedness
And my suggestion
To meet downtown
At First UU church


Though Lilly is only eleven years old
And a star student in the fifth grade
She was nonetheless forced
To eat a slice of rich
Delicious chocolate cake
Whilst a beautiful Macau parrot
From Costa Rico
Named Lulu
Put on a wonderful impromptu show
Of multi-colored feathers
In every color of the rainbow

I proceeded to meet Douglas
At First Unitarian Church
In the very heart of the city
And we shared the last
Half of the service
And also heard
The spanking new minister’s sermon
Regarding the Apocalypse
And coming End Times
A fitting fun topic fit
For Earth Day
As it also turned out to be

The girls had been waiting
At the coffee shop
Just down the street
When the two of us
Barged in on their
Special reverie

Soon we all retreated
Like ducks in a row
To the pizza joint
Across the way
On the sunnier side
Of the street
Where we quickly found
A cheery little table
Complete with an umbrella
To shade us from the sun
Should the sun
Become too hot
And inhospitable

We ordered lunch
From our waitress
Who was very blond
And very thin
As all waitresses
Are required to be
If they want
To keep their jobs
In this pitifully weak
Economy

And we watched
The passing strollers
Whose faces seemed
To be a bit less strained today
This Sunday
This Earth Day
As we sat under
The Perigee Moon
And bathed in
The Harmonic Convergence
while enjoying the people parade
That floated past us
Like players in a carnival
Side show
All shapes and sizes
Some in their Sunday best
And others looking like they had
Just fallen out of bed

We watched and ogled the passersby
As we sipped our drinks
(Pure Philadelphia Schuylkill Punch)
And ate our brunch
All of us feeling
Quite at home
And at peace
When suddenly
Some total strangers
Tourists no doubt
Suddenly began to dance
An impromptu tarantella
I would have like to have joined them
And I would have too
Were I of less girth
And less clumsy
And more of a jolly good fella

And so it went
As we ate good food
And talked good talk
For endless hours
Or so it seemed
Renewing all of our friendships
And promising to keep
In touch
As friends almost
Always do
But then most often
Do not

By the time
We parted ways
We had renewed
Our bonds of love
And good cheer
And I felt refreshed
In spirit
And renewed in hope

So we parted
Each other’s company
In love’s rosy embrace
Promising to once again
“Do lunch”
Another time soon or
Whenever the cosmic forces
Again align
In such cosmic harmony
As to allow
Such festivity

“So let’s do lunch again some time!”
Said my friend Doug
As he and Prue
Once more
Saddled up
On Comet Haley Bop

Yes I agreed
“Let’s do!”
And let’s promise to do it
Whether there happens to be
A Super Perigee Moon
Or not

j.h.markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011