Diner Cook
Eons behind the counter, the years
he has spent in this diner, side of
the highway where truckers stop
to rest, to eat something fast, to
relieve themselves and to resume
their fast-trucking way towards
their destination to earn their
living just like the diner cook who
stands behind the counter and cooks
hamburgers, a matter of two minutes
each side, which along with a handful
of fried potatoes make up the regular
meal, straight French cuisine, one
might muse, food meant to be digested
as the driver sits in his seat focusing
on the next bend of the road, the faraway
depot where he’ll get paid, he too
has done as others did before him
he too has lived the donkey’s life
just as others did before him
Manolis Aligizakis 