A restaurant paper placemat
is the best place to compose
a poem. There’s nothing venerable
about the surface, slightly rough,
perhaps a stain of sauce or tea.
You can try yourself out on a
paper placemat, not take things
so seriously. Thoughts fill
the squares and dimples while
a meal fills the stomach. The pen
flows like a good wine – with any luck
you’ll stagger home tonight,
fumble, swear, fail to fit the key.
