see Mansfield again
before taking the plunge down
the spiral pipe slide
relaxing in the hot tub
Frankie under my arm

The Cabot Factory Outlet in Waterbury offered a crowded house more than cheese samples. A pixie-cut-haired young woman from a new “Meadery” offered tastings from the fledgling enterprise’s three meads. Free mead, along with the purchase of our favorite cabot, goat cheese, Greek olives and more—a good start!

Afterward, we visit the Cider Mill Press, where we sample jams, delicious apple cider before swaying back and forth on swings while viewing the Green Mountains.

crowded shop
laughing at novelty messages
sublimely absurd
his sneakers on a sofa
his new sketch in a gallery

At Zorro’s, a blond woman tells a riddle I told—one that Frankie solved. “His mother,” he blurts out. To which the woman retorts, “Smarty pants!”

leftovers
a darkening sky above
faded siding

Photo by Alice Donovan Rouse

first published in Image Curve, April 4, 2019

for dVerse Poets’ Open Link Night # 240 (pubtended by Mish)