Of the three small bars in town,
John and Daisy ran the only one
that was a true restaurant.
John wore classy slacks, no jeans
and neat collared polos, no tees,
efficient, always moving, slightly smiling,
wiping the bar, aligning the bottles,
joking he charged entertainment tax
when the train by the river chugged by.
Daisy created hearty dinners and buffets,
and on slow nights, aproned, chatted at the bar,
providing social niceties that John lacked.
Day after day, night after night
no one appreciated how much it took,
how little it paid, until suddenly they retired,
moved away and left everyone
wondering who they sold it to
until overnight a shocking,
sparkling neon sign appeared
announcing an unexpected
new enterprise —
Boob’s exotic dance club.
Nancy Kay Peterson’s poetry appeared recently in Bluebird Word, Dash Literary Journal, HerWords, Last Stanza Poetry Journal, RavensPerch, Spank the Carp, Steam Ticket, Tipton Poetry Journal. From 2004-2009, she co-published Main Channel Voices: A Dam Fine Literary Magazin. Finishing Line Press published her chapbooks, Belated Remembrance and Selling the Family.
