It’s a decent joint where men wear clean Carhartts
and women wear contoured makeup. And friends,
this is an old story, one you likely know: Young
men in rented formal wear—they have no clue
what to do with their hands. Young women, more
confident than they’ve ever been in their small-
town lamé or layered organza. The semi-hush
as they walk through the dining room to booths
their parents sat in 18 years ago. Looks passed
between old couples. The beam of the waitress
who can’t wait to give her best. You remember
this and know what a devil’s kiss it is to ride that
cusp without seeing what’s on the other side,
and so you get all misty in your Seven & Seven
and your calamari appetizer, and you take your
love’s hand for a quiet minute before the prime
rib and you know it’s hokey as hell but you want
to go over and wish those kids well. Of course,
you don’t. Instead, you stay put and envy them
a little. And feel glad you endured what’s next.
David J.S. Pickering is a native Oregonian, having grown up and lived much of his life in the working-class culture of the North Oregon Coast. His first poetry collection, Jesus Comes to Me as Judy Garland, received the Airlie Prize in 2020. His poetry is published in a variety of journals including Relief: A Journal of Art and Faith, Tar River Poetry, Mantis, and Reed Magazine. David lives with his husband in Portland Oregon where, even as you read this, he has likely had too much coffee.