Ninety-Eight
Ninety-eight still looks forward to eating
Instant mashed potatoes, frozen peas,
Noodles and butter with non-fat cottage cheese,
Eggplant parmesan that keeps repeating,
Tapioca pudding, tepid tea,
Yearning less for food than company.
Each meal provides the matrices of meeting
Into which he pours his energy,
Grasping interstices he can seize,
Hours of laughter, rage, anxiety,
Till the next meal's quiet, offhand greeting.
Copyright by Nicholas Gordon. Free for personal or non-commercial use.
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