‘Rendezvous’ by Carole Bromley

 
Rendezvous

after Dennis O’Driscoll

I am in Stonegate
expecting to meet you at 4

You are in The Shambles
expecting to meet me at 4

I have shopping bags that lengthen my arms
you have Jonathan on your shoulders

It’s Christmas and I’m Dreaming
blasts out from Ye Olde Starre Inn

In Giovanni’s doorway a busker sings Jingle Bells
flat cap at his feet

It is five past four
and no sign of you

It is five past four
and no sign of me

You may have forgotten your watch
I may have bumped into someone

You may be in A&E
I may be under a bus

A White Christmas
is on a loop

The busker has been moved on
flat cap on his head

You have got the front door key
I have got the supper

We must stop not meeting like this.
 
 
Carole Bromley has two pamphlets and a full-length collection, A Guided Tour of the Ice House, from Smith/Doorstop.  She teaches Creative Writing at York University’s Centre for Lifelong Learning and writes a regular poetry blog for the digital magazine YorkMix.  Follow her on Twitter CaroleBromley1.