it’s my 90th birthday and i’m taking myself out for a nice bowl of soup at the restaurant on Shuswap Avenue, the one with the sunscape painted on the wall. a mural is what they call it. they serve a nice borscht on Fridays. and the waitress, Shirley. what a woman. comely it what they used to call women with a little meat on their bones. comely. i miss that word. and i’m going to ask her, i’m going to ask Shirley if she’ll come back with me to my room at the Lodge. come back and lie down with me for an hour, Shirley. that’s what I’ll say. the world is too busy. the world can miss out on us for one measly hour.
*in memory of Robert Kroetsch