boardwalk soda fountain shop

by LindaAnn LoSchiavo |

My bare feet warmed to burning from the sand,

I’d wave to you, obscured by boardwalk crowds.

Did you greet everyone the same as me?

I watched as you’d extend a palm beneath

A ripe banana, tenderly, as if

To ask permission. Or you’d let me tuck

Wildflowers into cleavage held aloft,

Slick, sweaty, suntan oiled, flecked with sand crumbs.

You like it dirty — even though your hands

Are spotless when you mix strawberry shakes.

You’re wondering how sugar hits my lips,

Eye my reflection showing that pale crack,

Tanned flesh that’s poured inside blue fitted jeans.

Now you’re hunched over the cracked countertop,

Sweeping a butterknife across burnt toast.

“I’m just so hungry. I’ll eat anything!”

Your words and steady gaze have made me blush.

I drop five dollars in your jar and leave

Without my shake because I’m staying here

Two more weeks and imagining how we

Will taste right after, mixed in with the dark.

| LindaAnn LoSchiavo: Native New Yorker LindaAnn LoSchiavo, a four time nominee for The Pushcart Prize, has also been nominated for Best of the Net, the Rhysling Award, and Dwarf Stars. Elgin Award winner, "A Route Obscure and Lonely," "Women Who Were Warned,” Firecracker Award, Quill and Ink, and IPPY Award nominee. Messengers of the Macabre [co-written with David Davies], Apprenticed to the Night [Beacon Books, 2023], and Felones de Se: Poems about Suicide [Ukiyoto Publishing, 2023] are her latest poetry titles. In 2023, her poetry placed as a finalist in Thirty West Publishing's "Fresh Start Contest" and in the 8th annual Stephen DiBiase contest.

LindaAnn Literary: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHm1NZIlTZybLTFA44wwdfg https://messengersofthemacabre.com/

socials: @Mae_Westside