nourishment
over lunch I looked back
at my marginalia from
my morning’s reading
we must align our functioning
with those we depend on
for life to be sustainable
weighty words for one
sitting at the bar at doody’s
waiting on a wedge salad
when I gave my order
as she filled my water glass
the bartender said,
“I should have remembered,
but you’re not sitting
in your usual place”
I’ve only been there three times
and she had saved my seat
like I belonged at the bar
she knew nothing of my book
or how I long to be a regular
most any time I sit down
she just knew how to
notice who comes in
and who comes in again
and I understood what it
means to align our functioning
in a way that sustained me
Peace,
Milton
if only she knew what greatness sat before her. Only you could make sitting at the lunch counter a profound event.