Episode
The gentleman opposite rose to leave
And as the doors whispered open.,
He glanced my way and said:
“Reading Joyce on the subway?”
One brow raised inquiringly
But without mockery or scorn.
I looked up from the page,
Mentally marking my place.
I told him that I was reading it again
After many years.
He seemed impressed
But that was not my intent.
Ulysses is difficult at the best of times
And I was struggling
Faring little better than I did
The last time I took up the task.
Following Leopold, Molly and Stephen
Through Dublin’s cobbled backstreets
Bars and brothels
Requires a flexibility
That age tends to calcify.
It is best to approach Joyce
Either when you are young
Or when you are very old.
The young have the resilience
To wrap their minds around
Joyce’s literary legerdemain.
The elderly have the experience
To deal with it
And maybe even the time.
The doors slid shut
And I returned to the page.