See Something New

New Adventures of East Gay

Our (optional) prompt for the day takes a leaf from Schuyler’s book, as it were, and asks you to write a poem about a specific place — a particular house or store or school or office. Try to incorporate concrete details, like street names, distances (“three and a half blocks from the post office”), the types of trees or flowers, the color of the shirts on the people you remember there. Little details like this can really help the reader imagine not only the place, but its mood – and can take your poem to weird and wild places.

On a sunny Sunday,
before Memorial Day;
West Chester comes to a halt.
We leave Christina's,
on the corner of Penn and Rosedale,
and head north
toward Gay and Market.

The red teracotta
dazzles and shines
in the late May sun.
We turn the corner,
from Rosedale to High;
cracked terracotta,
it has me wondering-
taking my mind away
from the nervousness
and excitement
about joining the Inked Club-
I wonder why they never replaced
this old terracotta
that sparkles in the sun.

"I haven't been here,
to Roots, since our
beloved college days."
Christina smiled,
we're marching side by side,
nearing Gay Street.
"When I went on Friday,
after I made the appointment,
I was the only one there
and they welcomed me with
opened arms - 40 minutes before close.
They have vegan and gluten-free options."
A distinction I didn't care about in 2016;
2018 brought in Celiac Disease,
2019 brought in a routine
of eating out with constraints
and an affordbale budget.

"This will be a great place
to eat before you get inked.
You need to eat beforehand,
that's important."
Christina is an expert,
and so is Anna,
who walked me through the process
via text, from her house,
a cottage in Greer, South Carolina.
We looked at our watches,
the metals reflected the sun
back into our faces.
We had an hour before the appointment.

Roots used to be on West Gay,
with tables and umbrellas
in the front,
scores of people ambling by.
In 2013, they moved to East Gay,
not far, but different-
larger building,
sprawling outdoor patio,
but the amblers aren't so many,
at least compared to the West.
I wish I visited more
after the move,
but excitement turned to dread,
and today the tides have turned,
some anxiety, but mostly excitement,
my soul has come alive again.

We turned left onto East Gay,
walk a few steps down,
a large building
with a handmade wood sign,
"ROOTS" welcomes us in.
A blonde haired waitress
leads us to a noisy,
but spacious dining room,
sets the menus down;
scrawls down our drinks-
apple and orange juices.
Quickly, we are served,
she jots down our vegan
and gluten-free order,
it shouldn't take long.
My nervousness subsides,
and excitement kicks in-
something new today,
and something I've dreamed about
for so long, it's amazing
that I never acted on it before.
We raise our glasses,
they clink together-
to new beginnings,
and new adventures!