Garnishes

I recall my AA meetings

approaching The Women’s

Temperance Headquarters,

that’s next to an Elks Hall

where an unlucky looking

man rocks slowly

in a porch chair maybe

got tipsy at the bar inside.

Houdini performed

at the opera house.

My father said he saw that magician

survive invited punches in the gut

by some Boston college students.

Near a small suspension bridge

kids feed a duck family.

Gumball machines offer grub

for two bits but bread

from home rules.

A meager waterfall

ripples the pond.

Splotchy gold on the

scavenger fish below fails

to remind me of fruit

garnishing a tall drink

but I quickly discover that

the hue of webbed feet

propelling a quacking

mallard from under

a parked car that’s black

as a top hat rabbit hutch

does the trick.

Published on April 17th, 2023