arthur and alice

arthur and alice found each other
one day back in fifty-nine

 

he was a young man
with hair slicked
and tongue tied
no aspiration greater
than a seat at the flicks
with a girl as beautiful
as …

 

alice was a slender reed
hardly of an age to say
yes to next saturday night
if her mother could talk
to her father
and if arthur came for her
freshly scrubbed and standing tall
to shake her dad’s hand

 

then an easy walk
to see the movie
with a newsreel
and a serial thriller thrown in
as shown on the billboard
wired to the elm tree
at the corner
of camp street and ford

 

a bag of chips
from the dolphin café
to share at intermission
as thrilling as the main feature

 

~

 

arthur and alice
walk in the town every day

 

the old man stands tall
with his hair slicked
speaks quietly to alice
her little frame at risk
of an unauthorized journey
from the tug
of the gentle breeze

 

slow steps and hand-in-hand
theirs is a small world
made only for two

 

arthur is anchor
alice is home
together they’ve featured
in a day to day serial
not made for the newsreel
or the billboard wired to the tree
at the corner of camp street
and ford

 

but playing privately
in a small house
an easy walk from town

 

~