10 years ago A tattooed man walked into my eaterie A quaint pop up A hole in the wall Chalkboard menu venue, high-gloss painted logo A quiet, cozy place We had waiters here, no maitre d’s People came to talk in whispered lows A place where patrons come and go Left in waves and groves Ebbed and flowed back and fro like palindromes He sat in his seat to eat A neat look Clean watch, shoes Manners Even how he picked from the book We exchanged a look On a busy Friday And took on our different paths Turned signals on the highway By the way he looked I thought he traveled on the byways But It was only a glance And I went on with my day 5 years later I saw a feature on the news A murder I heard murmurs across countertops The live music stopped A pin dropped And the tears fought I can’t remember what I thought When I heard the details Saw the face But I knew they were a customer Occurring daily in this place Two years after And the space is much the same Time healed the gaping wounds Healed the scars upon its face But on an average occasion Much like a decade ago A clean man walked through the door The bells ringed and echoed He sat in his seat to eat Held his fork the same way Ordered the same entree Left a tip when he paid But when he turned to leave he looked at me and the glance became a stare, And in his eyes an avalanche In his gaze I felt Scared He must’ve realized Because his look became a glare He made his way across the shop His careful steps piercing air He came to me and said hello He stares because he’s anxious But I felt cold inside his warmth And than began to panic I didn’t know why I had no clue Until 2 years later came today When I closed up shop Looked outside And saw his face His eyes were not calm His clothes were not neat I felt my heart The pace it beat And remembered The murder victim years ago Was the one he came to meet