If I'm in a tea-shop or a cafe, I'm usually with someone - which means we will be talking. But a solo visit to places like this can be a good source of material for the writer.
Take a look around (trying not to stare). Look at the people around you. What can you tell up-front? What does their tone or posture tell you? Indulge in a little speculation. What are they talking about? Where have they come from? Where are they going? Are they a comfortable fit? Are they too comfortable?
And don't forget the staff. What do they think as they glide between the tables?
If the cafe is loud enough and you are quiet enough, you might catch snippets of conversation from different tables. Try putting some together to make a "found" poem.
Julie and I are in the habit of sitting in Wetherspoons, on their wi-fi. After dinner/breakfast/lunch she might catch up on her programs or read a book. I might do some writing, or look around.
The couples spotted in this piece came from several different visits. there are different versions of it, and I want to add to it every time we go out. This is a version meant to be read out loud in one minute.
THE COUPLES
· They are different in gender, but the same every other way. Unsurprised, unsurprising, familiar, happily downing shots in unison.
· They are the same age. Young. It looks like a first date. She is turned all the way up, attentive, happily encouraging. He can’t believe how well he's doing.
· They have their elbows on the table. Both of them attractive. Both intense. I get the feeling a decision is being made. By her.
· They look awkward, but with the world in their different ways, not with each other. Outsiders building a fort together. The fact that she’s wearing slippers seems somehow reassuring.
· They seem to have run out of conversation. Years before. He looks over her shoulder. She looks from the table to his face and back again, ready in case he has something to say.
· Above the table she is scrolling on her phone, and she is lost in a book. Beneath the table, their ankles are cuddling.
· She has finished explaining. It's his turn to respond. And her hands, her eyes, her attention, have already walked out the door.
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