ANDREA MESSINEO

SAINT JULIAN PRESS POET

 

ALL-NIGHT DINER
 

​At the entrance to the church
a scold blocked my path, hands on hips,
with her two ill-mannered children.
 
Scarcely had I got around them
when I started looking for a seat, 
following choir stalls around the back
as they spiraled outward like a seashell.
 
And each person, alone in a booth,
lost themselves listening to podcasts,
surfed, or otherwise did as they liked.
 
As the seats curved gently around,
they opened into fragrant tables
where people faced one another 
and were nourished at all hours.
 
I found a place together with some I knew.
The man across from me asked my opinion;
I said we’d not yet seen each other’s potential.
 

 ALONE IN CHURCH
Andrea Messineo © 2019
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 Saint Julian Press, Inc. * Houston, TX 77008  *  Ron Starbuck ~ Publisher-CEO
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