Lyrical Somerville

Lyrical Somerville

Many of the java joints in Davis Square are written about all the time.
But how about Union Square? Here is a poem I wrote about my favorite café in my ‘hood: “Poem for the Sherman Café” --Union Square, Somerville, Mass. To have your work considered for the “Lyrical” send it to :Doug Holder 25 School St. Somerville, Mass. 02143 [email protected]

POEM FOR THE SHERMAN CAFÉ
(UNION SQUARE- SOMERVILLE,MASS. )

And who was or is
Sherman anyway?
As mysterious
As the bathroom
Wallpapered with
Satiric headlines
Of a defunct rag--
A rare species
Of newsprint graffiti.

The joint whines
Leonard Cohen
And the long-fingered
Women in the back
Knead the dough
Slapping them into scones--

Oh yes
And the lovers…
Across from one another
Their laptop screens almost touching
Tapping out their
Ritualistic song…

Yes
We are here
The gray beards
The purple-haired
The nose-ringed
The broken
High-pitched
Tragedy
Of sad
Comic voices
Some even
Offering gifts
To the help…