Diner, June 13, 2019

~ qbit 
The caller said your father had died.
We were sitting in a booth
at the Greek diner.

Who better than Greeks
to know Tragedy?
Our waiter is from Guatemala.

Maybe who better than 
Guatemalans
to know tragedy.

The restaurant is empty.
Who better than empty
to know loss.

His wife will burn him.
She can send the box 
if anyone wants it.

If anyone wanted forgiveness,
I would tell you
a burnt heart 

closes like a door 
as the last customer
leaves for the night.

We pay the check 
and leave a tip
in the jar.

After we are gone
the waiter will spread our coins
like ashes.

First published Sept 2020 in the I-70 Review

The Sunday Muse

29 thoughts on “Diner, June 13, 2019”

  4. Digging deeper into the I-70 Review I read …. ‘the journal holds constant to work that is surprising and fresh, believing original voice is essential in poetry and fiction’ ~~~ which describes your work / talent to a “T” …….

    Liked by 2 people

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  8. What an awesome poem! The way you linked the stanzas to highlight the different stages is really amazing. Yes, who knows better than the Greeks about tragedy!

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. “Ashes in a box…” We have ashes of two dogs and a cat in our house. We’ve also taken ashes of a lady good friend from her funeral home in Corpus Christi (TX) to Houston for burial.
    None we ever burned (will ashes burn??), in your poem that gives a good character insight.
    Good reading, thank you.
    ..

    Liked by 1 person

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