Sheltering in Place with Meg Ryan

Bob Bradshaw

I never brandish a smile.  
It's like flashing money
in front of strangers...

what good can come of it?
Anyway, my teeth lean left and right, 
like gravestones in sand.

The best thing about sheltering?
I don’t need to see the dentist,
her office closed.

And I have the perfect excuse:
I’d rather not die,
thank you.

And I no longer need  
to explain to co-workers
why I don’t have a girlfriend.

These days I don’t dread
the followup question…
When was the last time you had…

Instead I’m home watching
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movies,
digging in my garden, 

learning Spanish on my iPhone
and wondering how I’d look
in a dapper sombrero.

Maybe I’ll order a pizza tonight,
lose myself again in Sleepless in Seattle.
There’s no self esteem lost

when Meg ditches me for Tom.
It's the closest I come to romance,
this year providing a welcomed excuse

for not awkwardly asking   
yet another colleague 
what she's doing Friday night,

having to watch her edge away, 
her weekends booked like a 4 star hotel
during convention season.

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Bob Bradshaw is recently retired, and living in California. He is a big fan of the Rolling Stones. Mick may not be gathering moss, but Bob is. Bob's work can be found in many publications on the net, including Apple Valley Review, Autumn Sky Poetry DAILY, Dodging the Rain, Eclectica, Loch Raven Review, Peacock Journal and Pedestal Magazine, among others.