A Muddled Encounter

A Muddled Encounter

(“May God, who gives you this endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ Jesus. Romans 15:5) 

As I was walking, jacket braced against the cold,
I passed a neighbor across the street I seldom see.
I glanced toward him
and then away, when he said something to me.
With my earbuds tuned to a favorite podcast,
I barely heard what he said. Indeed, I could not
decode it.
So I turned my face back to the sun, smiled, and
waved and hoped
it an appropriate response to whatever he said.

The possibility remains that he said nothing at all,
just background noise in my ears. Or he said something
to his pet pug at his feet.
The possibility remains that he asked me a question
and I dismissed it with a wave.

I hope you did not misunderstand me; I hope my response
was appropriate. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow to rearrange
my words into a more palatable stew. Maybe you didn’t even
notice me. Maybe you wished I knew your name.

It was those few moments of a muddled encounter that
stayed with me through the afternoon. It was such a
tiny thing
occupying the front door of my thinking. I always
pet the dogs I pass, and wave at the cars. But I
will never know if my neighbor thought me unsocial,
or noticed me at all.