This was one of the poems rejected with
my first Literary submission in a few years
I personally thought it was good, but…
Planning to send out one submission per week, however
In a Resto Bar in Altona
It was a Resto Bar in deepest Altona
it was rainy, very Hamburgian
We wanted soup and a place where English
if not spoken, was not totally
disregarded
On the way back to our soup
right out of the Herrs and Frauliens rooms
stood a cigarette machine
from deepest nineteen fifties
America
There were twenty brands listed
as a recovering smoker
I only looked for scientific interest
at some brands I would now never smoke
wistfully
Adjacent to the cancer stick dispenser
was a picture of blissful
outdoor dining which
Hamburg would not have in the continual
rain
From the dining to the machine
one distant from the other
I stood and remembered what a cigarette
smelled tasted and inhaled like, then
walked
on
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About bobsmall1
Bob Small has read at Bacchanal, Barnes and Noble, Borders,
The Booksource (Swarthmore), The Clark Park Festivals,Community College of Philadelphia
Highwire Gallery, The Mad Poets Annual Food Fest Reading,
The Middle East Restaurant, Nexus GalleryThe Painted Bride Arts Center,
The Philadelphia Ethical Society, Robin's Bookstore
The University of Pennsylvania and also in New York City,
Trenton, NJ, Washington, DC, and in many Delaware Valley Venues.
He is the author of numerous chapbooks, including
El Otro Lado (with Maralyn Lois Polak), On watching America Die,
Small Steps and Toes (with Lamont B. Steptoe), and The Unapoet.
This is his first Reading in over a year.
Bob Small was Founder and President of the
two decades old Poets and Prophets,
which presented Poetry Readings
in both Delaware County and Philadelphia.
Bob was the Chair of The Delaware County Green Party and was the
First Green Party Candidate in Delaware County (2005).
He was also a Green Party National Delegate, among other duties.
He is the Founder and Facilitator of
The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition (PaBac),
which is a Coalition of both Independents and Third Parties.,
seeking to legislatively improve Pennsylvania's Ballot Access Laws. (Facebook)
Bob is also a founding member and
Facilitator of Democracy Unplugged, and Delco Debates,
which has presented Independent and Third Party Forums in Delaware County since 2004. Facebook)
He was formerly involved with Cinema Resistance, and Delco Pledge of Resistance.
Bob currently lives in Swarthmore with his wife
and their menagerie of animals.
He is currently focused on writing a Novel and organizing his Poetry, which he posts on his Blog (Bob Small1). He is retired from most of the above activities, except Delco Debates and Poets and Prophets, which he may return to.
robertthesmall 