Notes About The Poem

For YOUR CHOICE C Poetry Contest sponsored by Brian Strand

blattid intruder

in my favorite inexpensive thai restaurant
i move to the right side of the table
she is less likely to see the wall to her right
i try hard to avoid a lull in the conversation
and aim to be more scintillating than usual
each time her gaze moves a few degrees to her right
i make a dramatic exclamation
i consciously avoid looking at the wall on my left
though it’s difficult
because I want to monitor its position
as i silently pray for it to move behind her
it seems like it can’t make up its mind
as it moves first closer
then farther
from her peripheral vision
it almost seems to be teasing me
tormenting me 
we finish eating
i’m waiting for the check
i’m in the home stretch
almost paid and gone 
but then
she looks
and sees
the cockroach 
no more favorite inexpensive thai restaurant
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025

Poem

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Rodrigues Avatar
March 19, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Takes just one time to ruin the ambiance!
Crandall Avatar
March 19, 2025 at 7:03 PM
When I was a newlywed about 35 years ago, my ex and I went to an upscale restaurant, one of my favorites - my wife had never been there. It was her good friend and his fiancé - first time I met them. It was dimly lit, but, looking down, I could see, doing a backstroke in my gravy, an actual cockroach. I simply stared mutely, not able to come to grips with reality until it caught up with me.
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