John Grey

My First Diner
 
Skinny blonde waitress
with too much makeup
 
pours coffee
into a chipped cup
 
at four in the morning
 
and in the background
an ex-con cook
with a cigarette dangling
from his mouth
coughs and splutters
over eggs flying
and bacon sizzling
 
while the jukebox
in the corner
plays the same
old country tunes
over and over -
 
beauty
and food
even music
get their comeuppance –
 
but this is America –
 
I think
I’m going to like it here.
 

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in Shift, River and South and Flights. Latest books, Bittersweet, Subject Matters and Between Two Fires are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in Rush, White Wall Review and Trampoline