Love Elegy with Busboy (Nathan McClain)
The whole mess –
pair of chopsticks pulled apart,
tarnished pot of tea.

even my fortune
(which was no good) —
we left for the busboy to clear.

I’d probably feel more
guilty if he didn’t
so beautifully sweep our soiled plates

into his plastic black tub
and the strewn rice into his palm.
The salt and pepper shakers
were set next Io each other again,

A new candle was lit.
You‘d never know
how reckless we’d been,
how much we’d ruined.

With the table now so spotless,
Who’s to say we couldn’t just go
back?  Who says we can’t start over,
If we want?

This post is part of Valley Beth Shalom’s collection of poems, stories and meditations that we have collected for 50 years.