An Evening in Mountain View

The cars roared past,
four lanes each way,
traffic lights, the only safe places to cross
spaced every mile or two.
I’d have to find a place to eat on this
side of the road.

I chose the Garden Café, a Vegetarian Restaurant.
I sat at a table by the window, and peered through
the slats in the blind at a middle-aged woman
dressed in a matching red sweat suit labeled MIT A.A.
I thought I might go introduce myself,
until I realized the fleece jacket was not on her child
sitting at the table, but on her dog
and there were two, one dressed in yellow fleece
and one in blue, and they were both on the table
eating with her.

So, I turned my attention to the fellow diners inside.
in particular, one dressed in a black and white striped flounce skirt,
permed bangs and bobby socks, bright red lipstick,
a porcelain doll face. I love Lucy, except her
hair was blue and she had Geisha eyeliner.

I paid and walked out.
A chill wind blew me back towards my hotel,
past the Alibi Bar where two skinheads loitered
at the entrance, watching me
walk on by.