THE FEDERAL RESERVE

She is sort of abstaining from everything.
The eponymous “Ginger”.
I’m just a garage door installation technician,
But tonight I am taking her
To donuts and drinks in the park.
Then we’ll go home and talk over Palm Beach Story.
I’ll be scared when she touches herself.
What kind of dog will we adopt?
Where will we source our spring water?
These are the questions one who loves asks.
She will prod me to remove my glasses
At which point I won’t be able to make out
Her hand as she unzips my jumpsuit.
I’ve got this sad tattoo of a demolition derby.
When she sees it she’ll ask me if I think
The Fed will hike interest rates tomorrow.
I’ll say I’m unsure, but the answer is yes.
They will.

PROJECTIONIST’S DAY OFF

Woke up in time to hear nothing
Read article about tennis skirts
As items of inarticulable beauty
Interrupted a couple at the park
To mourn a terrier born this day 1742
Made note of bergamot hand soap and
The various green bottles of fizzy water
At the café full of people counted
12 smiles 4 frowns 7 indecipherables
Bought chickpea salad from the grocery
Visited family cemetery plot
Left zinnias stolen from the grocery
Considered a life in which one
Could feasibly own and care for a horse
Made list of horse names
Went to the ballet at 7pm
Stopped by the cinema on the way
To laugh at Ron the other projectionist
Left ballet with new appreciation
Ate dinner consisting of dry aged trout
On a dressed bed of bitter greens
Told a woman with dark hair at the bar
In a floor-length cowhide coat
She looked like Faye Dunaway
At home watched The Thomas Crown Affair
Went to sleep and dreamt of horses
Geraldine Barbara Sue Lanky
Sarah Junebug Kelly Sloane

THE COUNTRY PRIEST

I went to visit him at his place in Sevierville.
He was a winner in every sense of the word,
And had an eidetic memory which often helped
In situations. It was August, so I wore sunglasses.
He’s always had a foxhound named Pete
And when Pete dies he finds another. Pete
Was chewing on my pantleg which was frustrating.
We talked about my credit score and his recent
Forays into passive income generation. “I heard
You lost your job” he said. “Yeah” I said.
“What if I told you I could help with that” he said.
“Well that would be terrific” I said. When he talked,
He liked to lean against surfaces like John Wayne.
I was there for several hours before I finally drove
Home in the dark and called my wife.