In the hours between dog and hyena,
they still serve lunch to a certain crowd.
He toddles in with his baggage:
a cane an oxygen tank a man-purse
an ample wife and her sister leading the way.
The machine that was the man is now
rusting, teeth rounded off the gears of time.
They take their time, as time is
all they have left, and with much animus
and screeching of sliding chairs
the women choose a table to our side.
He is not there. I am not here.
I know this man. Years of
running a business,
raising a family,
grandchildren in college, then
a decade of dwindling,
now to be entertained by
the chatter of magpies.
Today he sits alone.
The clanging of pots in the kitchen
rules the empty room.
We meet somewhere in our breastbones,
he dips his chin ever so slightly to me
while holding my gaze a moment,
finds me beautiful and I love him.
Slides his eyes downward,
closes the menu,
softly tells the waitress
he'll have the usual,
fishes a pill bottle out of his pocket.
###########
About the Aspen Poets' Society:
Aspen Poets’ Society was born of the desire to provide a variety of venues for local and regional poets to share their original work with a public audience. The two primary venues are its Facebook page,the Aspen Poets' Society website and Live Poetry Night at Victoria’s Wine and Espresso Bar in Aspen on the last Sunday of every month. For more information contact: Kim Nuzzo, President, Aspen Poets’ Society, (970) 309-4828
About Marjorie DeLuca:
Marjorie DeLuca moved to Aspen in 1974 and soon started a company the growing community needed real bad: Aspen Typesetting. Many moons have passed, and she now works out of her home in Carbondale as Aspen Graphic Solutions. Marjorie is a board member for Aspen Poets Society and a member of the Roaring Fork Poets Cooperative in Carbondale. She serves on the board of Wheeler Associates, the nonprofit supporting the Wheeler Opera House. Much of her recent work is in book editing, design and publishing through her company AGS Publishing.
