Classic

To say we were on the rocks would be old fashioned.
I don’t want to advertise the bitterness. In Manhattan
I meet a sort of sour redhead named Tom Collins.
We run off to New Orleans together and a hurricane
splashes up around us. But even the grasshopper
lives through this. The air is weighted. It’s dark & stormy

here in our empty room. His face is dark & stormy,
stuck in a history he never shares. Our old fashioned
sex squeaks by, becomes a burden. That grasshopper
never seems to mind. Remembering back to Manhattan
when it all seemed foolproof. Falling into this hurricane
of swishing anticipation. When I met Tom Collins

I knew no worry. I was so sure Tom Collins
wouldn’t leave me when it got dark & stormy,
that I’d never shake, face the hurricane
alone. Believing that hoax is old fashioned.
I should have recognized the tease in Manhattan
and remembered the ant instead of the grasshopper.

I thought I was more wry than the grasshopper,
but I was fooled by the sweetness of Tom Collins.
I’d peeled off the hard rind of Manhattan
and stared up into the green sky, dark & stormy
& advertising a life that seemed old fashioned.
Now I light the glass lamp before each hurricane.

Just around the corner a straight-up hurricane
frightens even those who prepare. The grasshopper
and his sugary excuses are pretty old fashioned,
strained and simple. And my affection for Tom Collins
is muddled–   His face stays dark & stormy,
eyes tight like strangers on the sidewalk in Manhattan.

I miss that tongue-twisted cherry, Manhattan.
What’s even important about weather, a hurricane
braying, breathing heavily? It’s only dark & stormy
for a little while — Even the twitching grasshopper
can wait it out. And I’ve got Tom Collins
to protect me! But I know I sound old fashioned.

Sure, it’s old fashioned to love Manhattan,
to fold into the arms of Tom Collins’ hurricane.
A grasshopper heard over all that’s dark & stormy.

 

Jenna Cardinale’s poems have recently appeared in the The Incredible Sestina Anthology, Little Red Leaves, Wicked Alice, and Horse Less Review. She lives in New York.

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