From the kitchen

round a hard-edge horseshoe
of people asking
for creamers
and the bathroom
and a water with no ice
it is an unaccustomed gift to walk
down a narrow hallway skimming hips
on trays of bacon
and long sacs of bread
coaxing foreign words
from forgotten realms of mouth
do you want
do you want
to dance
with me
?DO YOU WANT
DO YOU WANT
TO DANCE
WITH ME
?
all the while
smiling, slinging
hot plates onto marble
all the while
the smell
of onions