one beautiful night

 

funny how a child
sees the
world

how they weigh the
balance of what is
important

like going to
Burger
Chef:

hamburgers: .18c
cheeseburgers: .25c
big chef: .45c
french fries: .15c
milkshakes: .20-30c
sodas: .10-20c

bring a mere child at that
time I was at the mercy
of my
parents

who decided that plain
old hamburgers and
cheeseburgers
was all I was
equipped to
handle

my mom would always
ask, " what would you
like?"

I would tell her, "A BIG
CHEF!"

then she would always
say, " WHAT THE HELL
WOULD YOU DO WITH
THAT!"

...I wanted to say, EAT
IT..."

but I didn't want my face
slapped and be called
a smart-ass in
public

and so it went month
after sobering pre-
ordained
month

but somehow...

through the faith of all the
saints and the kindness
of the gods, the world
stood on it's
head

she asked

I answered

and she stood there,
quietly, in the garish
lights of fast food
nirvana

and said, "OK." in that bland
metallic, monotone voice
a parent uses in
surrendering to
an inevitable
truth about
their
child

she turned to the
counter and said,
"Two Big Chefs.
Two order of fries
and two large sodas,
please."

I ate every last crumb
of every last
crumb

drank every last drop
of the very last
drop of
soda

finished every little
crispy burnt end
left in that
greasy
bag of
fires

there was never a meal
more glorious or
grand

on that night

Columbus,
Georgia

in the year of
our lord,
1967

as my mom looked
across the
table and
smiled