we've overstayed our welcome, you and i

Kathy Riordan

Location: Florida, United States
Birthday: April 27

Bio: One woman's view of life and the universe. Follow @katriord on Twitter.

MY RECENT POSTS

Last Dinner On the Titanic
April 14, 2012 08:44PM
One More Trip Around the Sun
February 29, 2012 03:47PM
Perfect Vision
February 09, 2012 12:46PM
The Good Year
December 31, 2011 08:39AM
Christmas, Party of One
December 26, 2011 10:19AM

MY RECENT COMMENTS

“I always blame the parents, who generally not only exercise bad judgment in where…”
May 23, 2012 12:16PM
“Maria, she survived and is doing well. She did have a total of three months in t…”
May 22, 2012 08:52AM
“I am so happy to see this excellent piece did not go unnoticed and got the attent…”
April 16, 2012 01:08PM
“I am so very sorry, Ann. The Frost reference is apt.”
April 16, 2012 01:07PM
“This is very special, Ande. Thanks for sharing it. Before we were ever engaged,…”
April 15, 2012 09:56PM

Kathy Riordan's Links

What I Can't Write About: Floating; The Strong One; The Best News Yet; In My Mother's Arms; To a Younger Sister; Do Not Disturb; Taking the Red-Eye; Breath of Life; Tears; do not resuscitate; Vigil; What I Can't Write About
Poetry, if you like that sort of thing:: The Sound of Trees; At the Public House; Dear Girl; it wasn't long, the time that was; Base Camp in Muddy Bottom; in tribute to stevie smith; After the Having, Having Had; Silver; There Is No Insurance for This; Pretty Maids All In a Row; I Thought I'd Write a Little Villanelle; At the Beguinage (for Megan); Daddy Did You Dream Me Up
Christmas: Silver; Signs and Wonders, and a Christmas Miracle; The Christmas Baby; The Ecumenical, Geographical, All-Inclusive Christmas Feast; Making a List, Checking it Twice; Santa Dog; The Dreaded Holiday Letter; When Santa Was My Grandpa; A Naked Christmas; E-Readers and iPhones and Coffee, Oh My! Holiday 2009 Guide; Favorite Homemade Family Gifts for Christmas
New to Open Salon?: Your Friends on Open Salon; Best Posts of Open Salon 2009; Introduction to Some Great Reads on Open Salon
Where I've been, where I'm going:: Paris; Under a New Mexico Sky; Casting the Movie of My Life; Muffin; Sagebrush and Funeral Potatoes; Saying Goodbye to Summer at the Cottage
Twitter from the Inside:: Twitter Is What You Make It: Who to Follow, and Why
Posts on World War II:: Honoring My Soldiers, My Heroes on Veterans Day; Letter from an American World War II Soldier to His Parents; On the 65th Anniversary of Operation Market Garden; Tom Hanks to Bring "Beyond All Boundaries" to WWII Museum
Some of my work on Iran:: Index: all posts on Iran and Neda; "The Anonymous" Behind Neda Video Awarded Prestigious Polk; Iran Fabricates Interpol Involvement in Neda Investigation; Doctor Claims to Identify Neda's Killer; Doctor in Neda Video Arrives Safely in London; Not that Neda: How the Wrong Photo Became an Icon; Updates on Neda, Symbol of a Revolution; Her Name Was Neda
Some of my favorite posts:: When Mayo Clinic Speaks, I Listen; Incognito in Istanbul; Such a Death
I also write here:: Follow me on bloglovin; Follow me on Kindle; In My Life; Journeys

« Back to Posts

JUNE 19, 2011 7:20AM

Rate: 9 Flag

oldpicdinner

". . piece of cake (*fingersnap*), Bren." ~ from Sixteen Candles

we've overstayed our welcome, you and i

the candles dimmed, our hostess gone to bed

there's nowhere here for us to lay our head

let's raise another sláinte for the dead

then we'll be off--just one more slice of pie

here comes a sunrise, and another sky

with dreams of others not so fully fed

who meet on the horizon by and by

adieu

Author tags:

the wind has changed, it's time to go, sous le ciel de paris, edith piaf, accordion, something victorian this way comes, existential ennui, adieu, dinner at eight, poetry

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Comments

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Amazing, I have this same picture, on t hank you cards I got an age ago...interesting twist there. It seems almost like you wrote of an Irish wake. Nice piece.

SheilaTGTG55

June 19, 2011 07:54 AM

But we are having such a good time!

Miguela Holt y Roybal

June 19, 2011 08:38 AM

I always enjoy your poetry Kathy, you have a classic, elegant style of writing verse. Enjoyed.

rita shibr

June 19, 2011 10:02 AM

Thanks, rita. I appreciate that especially. I have to say I rearranged these lines several times and tinkered with them before leaving them at the form they're at now. Originally it was written a-b-b-a a-b-b-a. You can figure out how. Sheila, I didn't have an Irish wake in mind, more a Victorian dinner party or Parisian salon, but you could be right. And Miguela, we are. Goodbyes are never easy; sometimes we just stay too long at the party.

Kathy Riordan

June 19, 2011 10:08 AM

Existential ennui, indeed. Well said. And Edith Piaf, she understands!

Anne Cameron Cutri

June 19, 2011 10:29 AM

thanks, Kathy! Indeed a treat from you on Father's Dad.

Catherine Forsythe

June 19, 2011 11:07 AM

Oui, avec nostalgie. Adieu.

Matt Paust

June 19, 2011 11:09 AM

Nice!

Spike The Chicken

June 19, 2011 11:33 AM

So sad and vulnerable. Thinking of you.

Helvetica Stone

June 19, 2011 12:03 PM

Aw, Helvetica, it isn't meant to be sad, more whimsical. Have another one for the road. Anne, Edith understands well. You're welcome, Catherine; I've overstayed. Matt, oui Monsieur. Adieu indeed.

Kathy Riordan

June 19, 2011 12:19 PM

leaving ... here? am i the only one who thinks that's what you're saying? if that's not the msg here, then i just like the poem and the photograph, and i always love to listen to edith. if i'm right, well ... that's a sad thing, kathy.

femme forte aka candace

June 19, 2011 12:51 PM

I so understand, Kathy...xox

Robin Sneed

June 19, 2011 01:02 PM

Candace, ha ha ha ha ha. Perish the thought. Getting ready to make a journey of a different kind, but not leaving here, no sir-ee. Just feeling whimsical.

Kathy Riordan

June 19, 2011 01:53 PM

"adieu" ...more lovely than "Bye-bye"

Lady Dove

June 19, 2011 04:21 PM

"[H]ere comes a sunrise, and another sky..."--a lovely line. I love reading the poetry of someone who truly knows how to compose it.

Paul Fornale

June 19, 2011 06:43 PM

Dear Kathy, your tinkering did the trick. A delicate adieu. A nice pairing with the lavish party scene. Reminded me immediately of a Laurie Anderson moment.

Shiva Diva

June 19, 2011 06:54 PM

Just the right, beautiful balance, of illustration, words and music, Kathy - you capture a feeling, a mood, perfectly - the wishing-it-could-last-forever dream we share, those of us lucky enough to have felt it, even once in our lives. Thank you.