I see

a sea of faces

mostly unknown to me

my friend has persuaded me

to be the seated groom

in a plush red velvet chair

followed by twenty walking brides

for a fundraising float

in my little town's

annual parade 

my face returns to the faces

mostly smiling

one boy looks confused

almost anxious 

I wonder if he feels embarrassment 

or if he wishes he was in the procession  

a young Asian mother smiles at me

her expression had so much love

and I wonder if she loves me

I think she does

she probably loves everything

and then the next face

and the next

and the hundreds of faces

that I will never see again

smile at again

and that will never smile at me 

there are also six flower girls 

and one page boy on the platform with me

I've never met any of them

they all spy me with curiosity

the bespeckled redhead at the back

is most intrigued  

a little girl sitting nearby

sees me perspiring in the warm midday sun

and offers her bowl-shaped hat

I decline

she insists

I accept

she has shade anyway

her mother introduced us

moments before the parade began

we are friends now 

the many faces I saw 

on the streets

of my little town

have now disappeared from memory

it's only the young boy 

and the Asian mother 

who will return 

from time to time

to visit