CASH ONLY

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.