Lessons in Love at the Colosseum Café
Hey Mister, can’t you see she’s not the least
bit interested, despite your oxford
shirt and tie adrift in this café of
shorts and sandals on a promising spring
night. You bargained with her for a date like
a bankrupt Moroccan merchant, and she
declined every offer with a list
of busy evenings for the rest of this
month. Pay the check, put this last refusal
in your back pocket. Let me give you some
advice: dress waaaaay down to your last dollar.
Avoid meeting her eyes when she takes your
order. Smile sullenly. Watch her backside
walking and turn away grinning when she
looks back. Count the cars and the stars; anything
but her charms, looking aloof as a cat
on a child’s birthday. Mumble thanks. Mention
the coffee stain on her apron is
as large as the oil leak under the truck
in your garage. She’ll march away, annoyed,
gab to her friends how cruel you are, and think
about what other thoughts you have of her.
Stroll in and stare blankly at the counter
of cheesecake, and look over her shoulder
toward the door when you ask about a
movie for Friday night. She’ll shuffle in
her shoes, squeal yes, wiggle her way back to
her trays. Don’t let her see the clouds you walked
on the way home. Remember this advice
next time you see her. This is what she
knows from guys long before you. Stand in line.
***********************
Reincarnation
In my next life I want to be the one
men take second glances at as if I
was the mirror to encourage their preening.
I want to be the one to get the door
held open from twenty feet away because
someone likes how I look walking toward them.
I want to be the one salespersons
find time to make conversation with as
they offer me clothes that fit all day long.
I want to be the one the guest makes sure
has arrived so the party can start and
frequently asks me if I’m having fun.
I want to be the one that gets noticed
when I leave and escorted to my stylish
salt-free car in a reserved parking space.
I want to be the one with an alluring
accent where vowels growl and consonants
click like swizzle sticks stirring midnight martinis.
I want to be the one everyone thinks
I get what I deserve because I am
beautiful.
3/27/01
****************************
Dropping In
Gooey chocolate in a chewy
concoction of calories
sit on a silver platter,
crunchy crust, doughy within
Just a half, the hips say
there's just not enough metabolism
in this town for the both of us.
But just a handful of slow
smooth salivation of mountain cocoa
mixed purely with milk, sugar, butter,
all those things Babci never
cooked without (and she lived to be 95)
so this is the one time I remember to
forget the scale, the numbers,
the guilt, the calories
and enjoy every last crumb
and not think of all the clothes
in my closet that don't fit me anymore.
4-6-05
*****************************************
Girls Like Me
While you were taking turns tossing coins into the fountain
Girls like me
Were walking along the river
Reflecting the clouds in the sky
While you held hands around a single cup of espresso
Girls like me
Were drinking and driving
coffee on the way to work
While you caressed a powdered cheek
Girls like me
Were rinsing catheters
and cleaning bedpans
while you spoke languages I’ll never know
girls like me
called girlfriends about boys at night
planning for Friday
while you made plans for a picnic in the vineyard
girls like me
shot pool and drank beer
laughing too loud
while you are now as I am
back then
girls like me
still wouldn’t stand a chance.
Inspired 10-18-10
**************
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