The Wrong Occasion Poem by RIC BASTASA

you arrive in a place
it is familiar
the chairs are in your
memory
and pillars know you
well
enough like a mother
to her son

you look at yourself
you are wearing the wrong dress
for the occasion

where it calls for a suit
and a pair of glossy black
leather shoes
what you have is a lousy
loose shirt and
cheap sneakers with untied
shoelaces

you want to take the exit
but the door is too far away
from where you are seated

you want to say an excuse to
the woman beside you
but she is busy with her prayers

then the bride comes with
her veil and
white gown

she is being wed to another
man
and the people are not talking
about it.