I sip my customary espresso at JJ’s
on a cold, nearly freezing, Spring
Monday in the World’s (again)
Most Liveable City.
Trumpets, followed by muted gong.
Affordable not part of criteria;
however, if there is a bargain, I get it.
Here is Melbourne’s only $3 coffee
and $6 (Mon – Fri) pizza.

Two men on my right drink red wine
with their pasta in baking paper.
Three teenage girls on my left await pizzas
with an appropriate #14 on the table.
(school term break piggy bank)
Dogs on short leashes escort their slaves
to al fresco area to the rear where
they kill themselves with kindness.
FM music an inoffensive audio blur
amid voice burble, languages.
Italian coffee machine and Indian cutlery
in touch with china. Permanently
turned-on TV is silent. A babe on table
is having its nappy changed by Mum
while Dad, dressed for the beach,
checks Facebook, just in case anyone
anywhere has liked anything since
he last checked. Clothes without buttons,
thongs, so much easier for a Dag
with only one free hand.

Someone’s having chips with aioli;
tomato sauce is out, vinegar forgotten.
A loopy old fart is here to read all three
newspapers because he misses nothing
except his own belt loops. Another Mum
opens – that sound – a can of fizzy
sugary drink for her designer son;
she imbibes white wine through ice
cubes, reads her personal glossy mag.
It goes on pretty much like this everyday
and deep into the even colder nights
and several residents have gone mad
despite living in this urban paradise.
Please Order & Pay at the Bar.
It’s truly a sign, a prodigious sign.
Please collect your own napkins & cutlery.
Another for those that have eyes to see.

# # #

Originally from Saskatchewan, Alan Lake has lived in Vancouver, Cape Breton Island, Ibiza, Tasmania, Melbourne & often retreated to Sicily. He has published two collections; Tasmanian Tiger Breaks Silence(1988) ; Sand in the Sole(2014). Lake won Elwood Poetry Prize2015 and Lost Tower Publications(UK) Poetry Comp2017.

Photo: kevin laminto