PAUL PINES

TAXIDANCING

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SO LONG

                                         O thicker and faster—(So long!)
                                         O crowding too close upon me..
                                                        — Walt Whitman

 So long means
              Good-bye or
              It’s been so
              long since I’ve
              seen you or
              will be
              so long before we
              meet again or the suggestion
              of unspecified duration so

Sal was spreading mayonnaise
on the mortadella
while a young Puerto Rican
stared at the knife
and sang:

              Make it nice
              Make it nice
              Put a little more
             meat on that bread

and we laughed
because an April sun was turning
everything in the Deli
liquid gold and
we were warm
after a cold winter
my 39th

then Sal
buttered me a roll
poured a coffee to go
and put them in a bag
as the light struck me
like the slap of
a Zen Roshi

and I realized
it would be easier
than I had thought
to enter my 40’s
with a little
dignity
regardless
of my
circumstances
so I told Sal

                   So long, Sal,
                   so long