Mr. Wright’s Kitchen Table 1966

green stained gym shoes

sweaty tee-shirt sticks to your back

smell of wet cut grass

blisters from hand shears

the sun grows hot

you walk faster to finish by noon

Mr. Wright calls come inside

pours coke over ice

condensation puddles on kitchen table

he offers more coke; you drink that, too

he asks if you’ve ever been to the horse track

pays you with a two dollar bill

offers you a Snickers bar

says he’ll see you tomorrow in church

7-14-23