Word on the street
CASH ONLY
I, too, have mistaken “Bi Bim Bap”
for an Ella Fitzgerald standard
my racism neither historical
nor purely psychological
but some admixture of self
upon self-same duplicity
like this found, hand-made sign
adorning the ATM shelter:
PLEASE PARDON OUR APPEARNCE
WE ARE UNDERGOING IMPROVMENTS
TO IMPROVE OUR APPEARNCE
thus melting breasts of adamant
in the sweetness of love
I withdraw enough cash
for the bill
and the tip.
A.W. Strouse teaches medieval literature at the New School. He is the author of “Transfer Queen,” a collection of poetry about his love of the subway.