I’m the pale boy sporting a biscuit beret.
She’s the tan blonde brandishing a black Stetson.
My head fits under her chin like two puzzle pieces.
She grabs my hand. Swings us out on the floor.
I spin under the crook of her arm.
The crush divides, opens ample room for our antics.
The band segues from “I’m Free” into “Something.”
Her right palm annexes my spine, left arm absorbs
my shoulders. My cheek folds onto her chest.
Sultry breath caresses my temple.
The white of her blouse. The blur of bodies.
I dissolve into her musk, mango, ambergris.
Light fades. Music dims.
Underpinning her bouquet, a salty tang.
My nose shadows the scent, draws deeply.
The song ends. A stocky hand grips my elbow.
I look up at a smiling man offering beer.
He’s as taller than her than she to me.
Thanks for taking care of my girl, little buddy!
She straightens my beret, pecks me on the lips,
beckons to a petite brunette, smiling our way.
Richard Fox seeks three-decker rainbows, fluent scout dogs, and illuminating espresso. When not writing about rock ‘n’ roll or youthful transgressions, his poems focus on cancer from the patient’s point of view drawing on hope, humor, and unforeseen gifts. He is the author of seven poetry collections: TIME BOMB (2013), wandering in puzzle boxes (2015), You’re my favorite horse (2017), embracing the burlesque of collateral damage (2020), Let sleep bless our arrival (2022), Once I was born to live (2022), plus a chapbook, The Complete Uncle Louie Poems (2017). The new collection, DOUBLE CHAI: Poems for My Zady & Miscellany, chronicles his grandfather’s life in “The New Country.” By relating these tales, the author tells his own story. Included in the collection are poems about heroes, and living with cancer. The winner of the 2017 Frank O’Hara Prize, Richard seconds Stanley Kunitz’ motion that people in Worcester are “provoked to poetry.”
Image: “Blob Dylan in Bushwick 2020” by Daniel Nester
Pine Hills Review 