nostalgia

          

                                                    nostalgia

                                                                  

              for as you know what we call nostalgia 

              is for the life we did not live

                                           - Gerald Stern

                                                   

the girl with the cat-

eye makeup asks

me what i want        to be

15 & saunter

into Vinny's Pizza on the corner of 86th 

& Lex    lean against the counter curling

smoke rings from my mouth one

inside another    to watch

Big Tony's stubby

fingers spin the pie high till it rises

to the tin

ceiling then slams

down a swirl 

of sauce a toss

of cheese    to hear 

the jukebox chant

Gene Chandler's Duke Duke

of Earl The Drifters making love

under the boardwalk    to gaze in

to her feline

eyes & murmur

                            gimme

a slice

& a Coke