Coffee With Ernest

[Jason Lilly]

I posted this in another group, but I thought I would share it here, as well. I wrote it after a dream I had. Please let me know what you think:

Coffee With Ernest

I had coffee with Ernest the other day
and I sat for a long time
staring at his beard
He asked several times
why I was so fascinated
and I could not answer him
He sipped his coffee patiently
and stared curiously at the hills
as they stampeded like great beasts
past the quickly moving train
I watched his eyes now as he stared
and knew the sounds that shouted in his mind
He heard their thundering feet as they ran
and their shrill trumpets as they screamed
"You know," he said softly
then paused as if he had changed his mind
"They really do look like..."
and he paused again

"White elephants," I whispered

[Joy]

This made me stop and think. I wonder about the setting - past, present? I wonder about where you were going, I wonder about your realtionship with Ernest. I wonder about what transpired right before, and what will transpire after. I think the best poetry makes you wonder.

[Jason Lilly]

Thank you, Joy, for your comments. I'm dying to answer all of your questions, but I only have the answers to a few, and I think the element of mystery in literature is part of its appeal. So, I am simply glad you enjoyed it.

Joy said:

This made me stop and think. I wonder about the setting - past, present? I wonder about where you were going, I wonder about your realtionship with Ernest. I wonder about what transpired right before, and what will transpire after. I think the best poetry makes you wonder.

[Susan]

This makes me think of how at rare moments we have insight into another person's view of the world, how we may each have our own thoughts but they come together somehow and we share a connection...

[Jason Lilly]

Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Susan, for that insight. That may be one of the best responses to this poem I have heard so far. If you only knew who Ernest is (and I'm dying to tell you), you would truly understand why your comments affect me so much. Thank you.

Susan said:

This makes me think of how at rare moments we have insight into another person's view of the world, how we may each have our own thoughts but they come together somehow and we share a connection...

[Renae Salisbury]

Okay, this is sumptuous - rich images created in a few words and in the lines between lines: Hemingway's beard, but his ball cap, too; his African adventures, but his Ketchum home as well - a place where the snowy hills of Idaho and the elephants of the Serengheti come together. Just like the poet and the novelist. I really like this. Thank you for sharing!

[Jason Lilly]

Yay, Renae got it. I'm sure the other readers knew who it was, as well, but I never like admitting that the poem is about Ernest Hemingway. It's funny; I've read more books by Stephen King than any other author, but I've never been impacted by any author's work the way I have by Hemingway's. I wanted this poem to show, simply and powerfully, how intimate a relationship can be between reader and writer.

Thank you all for your comments.

Renae Salisbury said:

Okay, this is sumptuous - rich images created in a few words and in the lines between lines: Hemingway's beard, but his ball cap, too; his African adventures, but his Ketchum home as well - a place where the snowy hills of Idaho and the elephants of the Serengheti come together. Just like the poet and the novelist. I really like this. Thank you for sharing!

[Ken C]

Were you drinking in a clean, well-lighted place? (And if it was Spain, I'm sure it was café olé you were drinking.) Enjoyed it (but then, I enjoy all things Hemingway, making me a dying breed...)

[Jason Lilly]

Don't worry, Ken, you are not alone in that dying breed. I have loved Hemingway since early college days when I read "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber". I love Hemingway's simplicity and I am envious of his travels and life experiences.

Thank you for your comments.

Ken C said:

Were you drinking in a clean, well-lighted place? (And if it was Spain, I'm sure it was café olé you were drinking.) Enjoyed it (but then, I enjoy all things Hemingway, making me a dying breed...)

[Ken C]

Jason -- Yeah, I've read most of his stuff and especially like The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, A Moveable Feast, and the short stories. I also love the first section to Islands in the Stream. I reread his stuff every once in a while because it's like seeing an old pal again. As for his personality, well, it's the artist I'm interested in. I can get past that no problem (though many others cannot).

On my honeymoon, we actually visited five cities in Europe. When we were in Paris, I used A Moveable Feast as my guide and followed EH's footsteps. It's amazing how much is still there! I had a drink in the shadow of Marshal Ney's statue at the Closerie de Lilas. Hey. Cheap thrills. And my wife was a good sport.

Jason Lilly said:

Don't worry, Ken, you are not alone in that dying breed. I have loved Hemingway since early college days when I read "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber". I love Hemingway's simplicity and I am envious of his travels and life experiences.

Thank you for your comments.

Ken C said:

Were you drinking in a clean, well-lighted place? (And if it was Spain, I'm sure it was café olé you were drinking.) Enjoyed it (but then, I enjoy all things Hemingway, making me a dying breed...)