-Diner song-

1.
Driving westward
To the foot of the Seven Hills
Closing in on the river,
The hills and gullies you can feel
Somewhere between your lap
And the walls of your throat,

Justly famous Al Mac’s Diner
Smokes from its sizzling grills;

A great American eatery

Rivaled in my recollection only
By the Fleetwood Diner of Ann Arbor.

Then from behind my leather-like booth,

A snazzy red and white color combo

With its benchseat’s obligatory tear
Dressed in X-shaped adhesive strips
In red of another value, a woman orders:

“I’ll have a Hamburger Sandwich and French-Fried Potatoes.”

The young waitress stumbles as if hit

With a solid punch to the stomach;

Seems to be catapulted to an alternate
Reality where people speak an awkward tongue.

She doesn't recover.

I slip a coin in the slot of the little juke
Under the window of my booth
Overlooking the still-life of the parking lot.

Volume’s cranked.

E-12 buttons are pushed and the little
Juke clicks and whirls to find its mark:

Tom Waits.

“Nighthawks at the Diner.”

“Burgers ‘n fries and what kind of pies?..”

2.

“I’ll have a Hamburger Sandwich and French-Fried Potatoes"?

Jesus Christ.

At Al Mac’s?

Fall River