The Diner

***
She sits three stools down
from my precarious perch
at the diner bar near my office.
I watch the basketball game
on the wall mounted TV set,
keenly aware of her presence
at the corner of my eye, heart
dribbling like a manic baller.
I lean forward to make a
clever comment, only to be
interrupted by kids arguing
in the seats between us,
an adorable nuisance that
separates us, for years and
years, drawing us together
and pulling us apart, such
a ringing irony at the heart
of our family dinner here
at the Cap City Fine Diner.

***