a dint of sunny street
light shines up front
but in the back the
dim-lit high-back booths
pronounce the privacy
with dull green walls
and wooden seats and
glossy black accents

an ornate
stamped-tin ceiling seems
the only interloper here
(beyond the kitchen door
the dishes – heavy duty
dishes – clank and rattle)

Drake’s was old and
liked to let us know
we found the only sign
of really modern times
the vague and distant
melodies of modern songs
that crept in from the kitchen
and reminded us
the present was the past