Pandemic Romance

W. K. STRATTON

May 15, 2020

This woman is complete and undisguised.

Your acquaintance rolls back for decades.

But counters always separated you.

Now social distancing divides you more.                   

You ask for pastrami. You are 1747 miles

From Second Avenue. What you buy here

Will not compare to New York City’s best.

But it is all you desire at this moment.

It is sufficient.

She leans to present you the warm sack.

Your sterile-gloved fingers touch hers.

Appreciate you more than you know, she says.

In the old Texas way, she appends: Sweetie.

Hot desire fills your car on the long ride home.

You strip layers down to parted roll.

Lips of brined brisket unfold to offer

The spicy mustard secreted within.

W. K. STRATTON’S forthcoming fourth book of verse is titled The Betrayal Creek Poems. His most recent book, The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, A Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and won multiple national awards.