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The moon was still full as a bottle of un-spillable milk. I worked the late shift at an all-night diner. I had blond hair. A righteous ponytail. A pad of paper and a pen that could decipher every need in America. Cravings for creamy and sweet, salty and satisfying. I fed the truckers and late-night drinkers. Even the man in the alley Who came up short by two quarters And apologized for not leaving a tip. Once someone asked for extra whipped cream on pancakes. I made a mountain, a whole Himalaya with one cherry on top. He left me a twenty. What is a job, but knowing the secret desires of strangers? How we budget for our pleasures, ask strangers for what we need. I could be that someone, Samaritan. Saint. Goddess of a small universe, floating towards your table with free coffee. I balanced this world like a plate of mercy against my palm.
Tresha Faye Haefner’s poetry appears in many journals, including Blood Lotus, Blue Mesa Review, The Cincinnati Review, Five South, Hunger Mountain, Mid-America Review, Pirene’s Fountain, Poet Lore, Prairie Schooner, Radar, Rattle, TinderBox, and Up the Staircase Quarterly. Her work has garnered the 2011 Robert and Adele Schiff Poetry Prize, and three nominations for the Pushcart. Her first manuscript, When the Moon Had Antlers, is out from Pine Row Press. See thepoetrysalon.com.
11/7 / Meet the Artist with visiting poet-in-residence Vandana Khanna / The Library at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 6:00 pm EST / Free
11/7 / Poetry Reading with visiting poet-in-residence Vandana Khanna + local writer Nicole Callihan / The Library at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 7:00 pm EST / Free
Sign up for our Workshop Series--SWWIM Lessons: From Prompt to Placement! They take place monthly, starting with “Deep Dive with Mia Leonin – Delve into the depths of memory, magic, and imagination to discover poetic treasure” on 10/15 (register here); continuing with “Navigating Your Manuscript with Alexandra Lytton Regalado – What I learned from reading for (and winning) the National Poetry Series” on 11/12 (register here); and concluding with “Surfing Submittable with Jen Karetnick – Keeping your head above water in the poetry submissions process” on 12/10 (register here). Price: $80/workshop OR $220 for all 3 (bundle and save! register here ). Time: 7:00–9:00 PM (EST). Where: Zoom.
Note: SWWIM Every Day is now accepting poetry translations for publication consideration. Please see swwim.org/submit for the full guidelines.
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I love this poem. The wisdom of the waitress is a textbook for paying attention, listening deeply, and satisfying so many different hungers. Just beautiful!
Lovely!!