Some Little Thoughts

Seated at a table in one of the most elegant hotels of the day, a lady, aged in her early thirties, dressed in a dark-blue frock, ordered a pot of tea.

She looked round the room in a nonchalant manner, glancing at other people in the voluminous room, and, then, took note of the Elegant Tea Table Ensemble, being presented to her by a smart, uniformed female member of the hotel’s staff.

The lady wore well-used, whitish tennis shoes that were, clearly, out of place, compared with her ironed frock that, unfortunately, had seen the best of times.

But it was only too obvious that she cared not a hoot of her dress and/or the well-worn tennis shoes because, amongst other things, the lady only had a pittance to her name.

The lady had determined to splurge most of her meagre amount of money in order to discover how the hoity-toity took tea.

She carefully poured some tea from the pot into her flowery adorned cup, and sipped it slowly, as though it were an expensive beautiful wine (which she had never known in the past).

And, then, she stretched her back … and closed her eyes.

After a period of less than five minutes of her dozy period, she opened her eyes and scanned the room in a manner as though she had never seen it before.

Not far from her, a quartet of young men had taken possession of their table. Their loud laughter shocked her out of her previous calmness.

Turning her eyes in another direction, the lady discovered the new presence of a grossly obese gentleman.

She noted that the fat man was slowly sipping from a glass that appeared to contain alcohol, although she could not be too sure since she had never tasted alcohol in her life.

She noted that the fat man was very poorly dressed.

His feet spread under his table because, the lady determined, he was having trouble, trying to find a position that could be an accompaniment of his enormous bulk of fat.

To the lady’s shock, the fat man glanced at her, but only for a millisecond.

The lady turned back to her cup of tea, being somewhat perturbed at the fat man’s attention.

The fat man, then, without calling for his bill, slowly made his way up the staircase and out of the room.

He had just walked, slowly and carefully, leading to the exit door of the hotel.

The lady noted that the fat man had not paid for his alcoholic drink, but had just parted without of word to anybody.

The lady pondered as to what had happened!

For what reason had this fat man had not paid for his drink?

After a period of a few minutes, the lady, on glancing at the contents of her handbag, withdrew a tissue, wiped her nose, then her eyes, and, then, determined not to bother as to the strange situation that she had witnessed in respect of the exit of the fat man.

And, then, she arched her back, once again, and determined to engage in another short sleep.

The Awakening

‘May I exchange your teapot, Madame?’

It was a question of one of the hotel’s assistances who had earlier placed the Elegant Tea Table Ensemble in front of her, after having poured boiling water into the teapot.

The lady, somewhat shocked at being aroused from her short sleep syndrome, thanked the female questionnaire, stating that it was not required.

The teapot, actually, was rather cold and, that being the situation, the lady wanted no more tea – because, among other things, she had not sufficient money to pay for another cup of tea.

The lady looked round the room again, and noted that the noisy young men had departed.

She considered whether or not she should leave the comfortable chair that had allowed her to obtain a well-required rest after the walk from her lodgings.

But she could not stay in the restaurant for ever, she told herself, and asked to pay the bill for the single cup of tea.

With that, the lady bid goodbye to the elegance that she had experienced for a very short period of time.

THE POEM

How many men and women are forced
To live on the horns’ of mendicancy?
Too many are forced to bear this plight.
Does the world assist those in need urgent help?
Or is it too difficult to tolerate the worst:
To concern oneself of men or womens’ pitiful sight?

Where are feelings of right, treasures ought to behold,
To open the umbrella of that which is love,
Especially for those in dire need?
When it is very clear that help is truly wanted
For mothers, their childrens’ life, now, and after?
Is it difficult to offer help in life’s important seed?

Many statements are made, first one thing, then another:
Empty are the sounds heard, day in, day out.
Empty are those, making claims of this world of ours:
Dig in the earth; shovel the clay; find earthly riches!
The foolish might claim to hear the sounds of success,
But rarely shall come any sweet-smelling flowers.