at a hip east side restaurant
. . . . . . . . . . . . (Milwaukee, 2001)
by Charles Rossiter
where the grains heap high
. . . . . . and dark meat is taboo
cell phones twitter softly
. . . . . .the clientele is
multi-racial tolerant, straight
gay, lesbian, east side liberal
middle-class,
. . . . . . . . . . . .the waitstaff
are caucasians in uniform
LL Bean khakis
and blue oxford shirts
tastefully
delivering food and drink
. . . . . . . . . . . .a young black man
with a head full of dreadlocks
walks among the tables
with pitchers of water and coffee
. . . . . . .a gangly Chicano teen
with the Virgin of Guadeloupe
tattooed on his wiry bicep
circles the room to clear the tables
of everything
the customers have left behind
except the tips
everyone going about his
or her business
customers, waiters, busboys,
as if they had agreed beforehand
to be hip, blase, and
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . color blind
~ originally published in Thirdspace
