In "24 words Spoken On A Park Bench," Rebecca Agauas beautifully paints a lovely, seemingly familiar scene -- birds are flying, kids are playing in dirt, and dogs are chasing their tails around in a park. It all seems innocent enough. However, something more is happening before our eyes, something we're unable to fully comprehend. A brief, unknown exchange between two people unfolds with layers of mystery hiding within them and slight hints dropping along the way. "We only spoke to each other once. / It was simple and to the point, never over complicating the situation." From this, we can infer that these two individuals are strangers involved in something unusual, some sort of predicament, but we're never certain what it is exactly nor are we ever provided with the nature of their relationship.
Agauas opens the poem with the line, "We sat on the park bench together, on opposites ends, in silence." Even if this could be first interpreted as a casual blind date outdoors or a possible 'meet-cute' story, the fact that they're sitting so far away, making sure to keep their distance, seems too suspicious to be leading up to the beginning/ending of a love story that 'might've been.' So one must have information the other wants, and they selected this park for their rendezvous for both of their safeties. Also, the fact that it opens 'in silence' and offers distractions tells us that these two are watching and listening to their surroundings closely first before trading any information.
Identifying who they are and their shared connection becomes a guessing game. Maybe these two are in fact agents, private investigators (or spies?), working on a case together. Or one is a Police Officer, and the other is an informant risking everything by meeting up in a public area. Or it could be a matter of discussing a ransom. Maybe one of their loved ones is in grave danger, and this is why they're holding this meeting. We never get to know what's really going on between them, and that's part of what makes this poem so compelling -- the numerous possibilities and directions in which our imaginations are permitted to travel.
But by watching, almost studying their surroundings, our narrator reveals one small personal detail about themselves. "Kites soared higher than I could ever get them to go." It could just be an activity they enjoyed as a child or one they've accompanied their son or daughter with playing, but it's the only glimpse we're given into their life, which makes it quite significant no matter how small it may seem. And when we think of 'soaring high,' we often think of aiming for a goal and doing all in our power and capability to achieve it. So this insight might also refer to this person's lack in abilities at reaching set goals and their determination to finally accomplish something of greater importance, possibly for the first time in their life.
The poem closes on the count of words exchanged and their departure with, "After 24 words were spoken, we got up from the bench and parted ways, never to be seen or / heard from again." Considering they note the precise number of words uttered, it tells us the significance of this conversation. These two aren't planning to meet up again; they said all they needed and wanted to in this moment. This closing line seems to further suggest at the danger of their "situation" and that this meeting is a one-time deal for a reason. It almost seems haunting, as if it's foreshadowing the other person's life ending in tragedy. It feels so final.
When it comes to speaking, so much can be said by saying so little, and Agauas achieves this concept quite well. Those 24 words almost become like a secret, one we're only allowed to eavesdrop on from a safe distance but never actually hear. We're only witnessing that these two are meeting together without being told every detail as to why. As a result, we can't help but let trying to figure it out and answering that main question, along with others, consume our minds long after reading.
https://www.fruithanginglow.com/post/24-words-spoken-on-a-park-bench-by-rebecca-agauas
Nice! great review