Thursday Afternoons

Who does a man

Truly know?

 

Frankly,

Man does not really wish to know someone.

Rather,

He wishes to know

How they feel about Him.

 

Does a man truly know

What another

Truly feels about him.

 

In order to sharpen the relevance,

What about one’s family

Or “loved ones” . . .

 

How does each person

In a family

Feel about him?

 

In order to sharpen the relevance,

What of the person in the family

Whom the man is most fond of.

 

Does the man truly know

What this person

Truly feels about him?

 

If one attempts to put the matter to bed

Based upon what the person says to him,

Then this would only be valid

If the things that were said

Were concrete, heartfelt, and consistent.

 

For instance,

If the person

On a somewhat regular basis

Wrote letters or messages,

Or verbally expressed emotional and heartfelt sentiments

Unrelated to an incident or situation . . .

On a simply Thursday afternoon . . .

One could make a strong case

That they indeed knew

How the person truly felt about him.

 

But in the absence of this . . .

Does one truly know

What the person feels about him?

 

When the man is on the verge of death,

The others in his life

Summon words and sentiments

That a Thursday afternoon is not powerful enough

To conjure.

 

And since this is the case,

One may posit

That a most pleasant way to live

Is to live one’s entire life

On the visible and demonstrable

Verge of death.

 

But in the absence

Of Thursday afternoon demonstrations of affection,

Does one truly know

What another feels for him?

 

Relationships are things

That once formed,

Tend to harden.

 

They harden

Into . . . routine.

 

They harden

Into . . . complacency.

 

Each human being

Has a shelf life.

 

Perhaps human relations

Do as well.

 

Given that Thursday afternoons

Represent the majority of one’s life,

What can a man

Logically expect to receive?

 

Appreciation,

Kindness,

A softness of words,

A consideration of tone . . .

Such things require

. . . a Mental Availability.

 

Such things

Require . . . a consideration of Heart.

 

Precisely and regularly

On Thursday afternoons.

 

Namaste.