The Mission

The Mission

After: The St. Francis diner
2801 24th St, San Francisco

The sizzle of the griddle pings

among the chitter-chatter of nubile

meanderings         who-ha’s

rock the St. Francis. This

resurrection fifties-soda-pop-stop &

feed the bellies of California dreamers—

Amongst milkshake swirls stand

pretty girls in rolled-up tee’s tat’s unfurl

on lollipop-like pedestals,

they twirl              unwinding like wet,

red, and white paper straws, barelegged

in cut-off— blue-jeans

Low-riders bounce by to mariachi beats;

as a line forms out the door

into the heat of a July day.

Street-side benches hold tight

to the overflow

jonesing for coffee or

ice cream to go—

Deborah Guzzi

Deborah Guzzi writes internationally. Her poetry appears in Allegro, Shooter, Amethyst & Foxglove Journal in the UK - Blue Nib &Automatic Pilot, Ireland - Existere, Ekphrastic Review, Scarlet Leaf & Subterranean Blue, Canada - Tincture, Vine Leaves & Ariel Chart - Australia, mgv2>publishing- France, Cha - Hong Kong - Greece - pioneertown, Sounding Review, Bacopa Literary Review, The Aurorean, Liquid Imagination & others in the USA. Deborah was nominated for the Pushcart Award & Rhysling Awards.