Popeye’s
Three young boys and a dad.
A mess of chicken fingers.
Spicy fries, syrupy drinks.
Six legs swinging under the table.
T-shirts used as napkins;
Napkins used as table cloth.
Conversation that will
Pinch your brain flat
Like the soda straws
Between their teeth
If you listen.
And how can you not?
“A kid at school fastens.”
“You mean fasts.”
“Yeah, he doesn’t eat during the day.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s Canadian.”
<pause>
“What does Canada have to do with it?”
“It’s his religion.”
I say, “I see.”
I should correct them but I don’t.
This is fast food, fast dialogue.
Besides,
The discussion has already moved on
To a chicken strip that looks like a shrimp
– with wings –
11:12:29 AM  Poems
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