it sets a stage
for a conversation with friends
that starts with wine
and courses
too numerous and rich to recount
each building on the one past
enfolding us
stretching thru the long night
past the point where
later bottles of wine took us
pouring from our hearts
our lives
of pleasure and pain
to various deep discussions
the subject of which
did not matter, as much
as the thoughtful
sincere
kindness
from which the dialogue grew
so that years later
this
was the memory
that remained
in the shadows
of this grand
red room
John Marx 2014
Upon entering
the deep venetian red
of the wall
is almost overpowering
both ancient and mysterious
the room is filled with
wooden ship models
random flatware
old paintings
it seems like this restaurant
has existed from before
the city was settled
or even before
our continent was drawn on a map
in a foreign land
it pulls us in.
to another time
where the solid earth mattered
and things where made by hand
with care
this eclectic collection of
objects
tastes
smells
colors