Mid-June, Nineteen seventy-six
Our nation�s bicentennial year
Ignorant of the rarity, the import
of the coming auspicious event.
Sat slouching in a tawdry bar
A Tuesday night
�ladies� night
Drank free beer
and watched.
There at the second coin-fed table
Its green felt worn, revealing age
A young man, red hair hiding his face
shook back the long shining mane.
Thumbed into place the matching mustache
Chalked his cue
�blue chalk
Missed his shot
and smiled.
An unconscious act; a casual gesture
An insignificant summer�s night
Unaware of his action�s repercussion
for his stricken, silent observer.
For him, the most trivial occurrence
Etched into memory
�her memory
Changed her life
forever.
