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| Image / Tima Miroshnichenko |
The Springs
Ernie the mattress salesman king
of an empty empire greets us
open arms, cratered face,
A half-life, how can I help you folks?
We explain needs, inquire about charges,
dreading the hard sale,
and he warms up a little, inviting
us to try his spring mattress vs memory foam.
Gives us his honest opinion:
Springs for him, always springs.
Ready to leave, my wife says ciao.
Something returns in Ernie’s eyes.
Been years since I heard that.
It takes little prodding for him to confess
seven years in Italy after the military:
an Italian wife, (bella, bella), living in Forte dei Marmi,
(papà knew marble like the back of his hand),
skiing up in the Alps, old men playing
pianoforte in Medieval towers,
springtime, the cafes, appetizers,
the wine (ah, the wine) -
He bounced from memory to memory,
a child trampolining on a bed,
a younger man foaming the cappuccino.
We felt pain to leave him,
a Cheshire Cat, sinking back
into the shifting sleepiness of later life.
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| Matthew James Friday |
Matthew James Friday is a British-born writer and teacher. He has had many poems published in US and international journals. His first chapbook, ‘The Residents,’ was published by Finishing Line Press in the summer of 2024. His second chapbook, ‘The Be-All and the End-All,’ was published by Bottlecap Press in autumn 2024. He has published numerous micro-chapbooks with the Origami Poems Project. Matthew is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. Visit his website at http://matthewfriday.weebly.
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