Allure Of A Stranger Poem by Roger Gerald Hicks

I've just made a date with a woman
who ran her number in a personal ad.
She says little on the phone; no
personal questions, except if I'm uninvolved,
says she'll meet me in a restaurant.

Her age near mine but slim odds for common interests.
I wonder what a 70-year old woman wants-
think back to my 14th year trying to pick-up girls
in a movie, wondering what they'd do when I sat down
beside them while the screen flickered,
wondering what they'd look likeclose. Balancing
rejection fear with my my animal relish
to fondle a warm breast- for a conquest.

In the late 40's some girls 14 went to movies
to meetyoung boys focused on one objective.
Now they advertise in personal ads and Internet
to meet stangers, some with devious desires.

Is it the same need at 14 and 70?To be touched-
the desire to be cajoled and manipulated?

Why is it that in 50 years I've not learned to live
without the attention of stangers? glance
at each one with the same glimmer of hope?

I look into eyes that quickly dart away.
I look into eyes of women blind of me.
I look into eyes of women who grin.

Poring over classified ads
I wonder what each author would say
if I sat down beside her
in a movie while a projector flickered.

What about this new stanger will be exciting?
What do I expect of this date; this woman?
What am I willing to be for her?

What can we pretend- that isn't rediculous?