I remembered today
the way
we'd call down
and order fries

with cheese

not cheese fries, no
fries, with cheese

we could always tell
the new waitresses
because they'd say:

"That's not on the menu!"

and

like the giggly girls
we were, we'd tell them
to go talk to the cook
that they made this for
us every Thursday night

or sometimes

it was just a loaf
of their fresh irish soda
bread, that we tore
hunks off
and slathered with butter

but the best
the best was the fries
with cheese

thick, hand cut
peels still on either
end

buried under mounds
of melted cheddar cheese
strewn with sliced
scallions and bits
of bacon

so piping hot
we burned our mouths
every time

I miss sometimes
those girls we were
and the fries with cheese.

03/24/2009

Posted on 03/25/2009
Copyright © 2025 Gira Bryant