cater drive

staring thru my pulpy glass of orange juice
linoleum countertop under my elbows
the morning cold metal edges crease my skin
snap crackle of a ground beef patty on the stove
the heavenly smell fills my nose
as it floats in the air.

blue and flowery old plastic plates
pale and worn from years of meals
years of seeing generations
sitting round the wooden kitchen table
then clattering in the sink soapy water
scrubbed, rinsed, and wiped dry
then put away.

cater drive is in my memories
good, bad, and indifferently
pasted on the walls inside my mind
gone yet never forgotten
replaced yet always there
i'll haunt the grounds after i pass on
i'll be there after i die.

walking behind the whirring flying grass
tires print lines across the yard
wooden handles warm and worn
hours and afternoons spent
sweaty hot and young
under the texas sun
hating the work
only realizing decades later
it would help make me who i am today.

cater drive is in my memories
good, bad, and indifferently
pasted on the walls inside my mind
gone yet never forgotten
replaced yet always there
i'll haunt the grounds after i pass on
i'll be there after i die.