11 Feb 2019: “June 11” by David Lehman

It's my birthday I've got an empty
stomach and the desire to be
lazy in the hammock and maybe
go for a cool swim on a hot day
with the trombone in Sinatra's
"I've Got You Under My Skin"
in my head and then to break for
lunch a corned-beef sandwich and Pepsi
with plenty of ice cubes unlike France
where they put one measly ice cube
in your expensive Coke and when
you ask for more they argue with
you they say this way you get more
Coke for the money showing they
completely misunderstand the nature of
American soft drinks which are an
excuse for ice cubes still I wouldn't
mind being there for a couple of
days Philip Larkin's attitude
toward China comes to mind when
asked if he'd like to go there he said
yes if he could return the same day
 
 

1 comment:

  1. I love this complaining about the place you wish you could go visit, but wait, only for a couple hours, not any extended duration.

    I see the benefits of this type of quick experience, but as I get older, I want to chill and spend more time at less places. I'd prefer not even go if I'd have to return the same day; it's not worth the traveling.

    ReplyDelete