Old man and I

By Gou Noborio

 There is the bench

He sits,

Over there is where I sit,

We sit across from each other,

I read,

As I eat my lunch,

He sits and reads,

As he eats his lunch,

We say �hello� but

Never more,

I rise, he is still reading,

One day, I decide

To sit beside him,

He says, that the weather

Is fine,

I agree,

We chat about the

Weather,

Then he talks more,

Shares of his belief,

That there is no God,

I nod and share,

He listens,

Nodding,

We finish our lunch,

I bid farewell,

 We again sit together,

I learn, he is from

France,

How he hates religion,

I listen he speaks,

Then one day he asks,

Why did I not converse

Before,

I shrug,

I question myself,

Then I realize

It�s still not late.