The Round Table at Buddha Lounge

Post lunch rush,
Buddha Lounge morphs
into our own private dining room.
Writers, we serve up language
as delicious to us
as the wasabi-infused soy sauce,
shaved ginger,
sweet chili shrimp,
Korean tacos,
sushi. As nourishing

as our Edward Hopper view:
The narrow, one-way slant
of Mill Street wedges cars
into metered parking slots.
A curbside row of dumpsters,
New York City style,
spoils the storefront
of Goodfella’s Pizza.
An aproned cook leans against
one of two outdoor tables
and smokes.
A trickle of pedestrians
traffic by.

This place inspires us. Ideas
are chop-sticked into
our mouths, chewed up
and swallowed. Laughter
drops onto our laps. We pat
our lips with weaves of poetry.

We are hip and we know it;
retired professional women,
exploring new menus.
Age is incidental. It just pays
the tip.

Kathleen Gregg has found a literary home within the vibrant writing community of Lexington, Kentucky. She studied under poet Jeff Worley through the Author Academy at Carnegie Center. Her poems have been published in Lady Literary Magazine, The Avocet, and in two anthologies by Workhorse Publishing, among others.