"Is this seat taken?" by Jessica Ardis, contributed by William Ma (2025)
Is this seat taken?
Or can aching grief sit next to laughing life?
They're old friends, and
won't mind
how close they'll have to be
Elbows bumping
and touching at the knee
For my Scalar presentation I chose a poem by Jessica Ardis called "Is this seat taken?" I chose it because I found it a really simple yet elegant way to invoke a lot of emotions that I can relate to about the relationship between "aching grief" and "laughing life". I've personally wrestled with the guilt and confusion that can sometimes come with juggling a sense of grief and loss with living a happy life, and I think the poem does a really good job of both capturing that feeling with the "elbows bumping" but also reassuring that "they're old friends." It also makes me think about how closely linked to the sadness of losing someone is the joy and happiness from the moments and memories with them, and how the former cannot exist without the latter.