by Jesse Lee Kercheval

    After the porno¹ theater became a revival² house，

    the neighborhood began to change.

    The Blue Plate， a designer diner， opened，

    all aluminum³ and curves. Inside，

    the menu featured revived comfort foods——

    meat loaf， mashed⁴ potatoes， a glass case full of pies.

    Young families moved in， the drawn⁵ shades

    of the elderly replaced by window boxes

    and Big Wheels in the yards. Another revival.

    Then a Mexican restaurant opened——

    though not one run by Mexicans.

    A pizza place whose specialty⁶ is a pie

    made with Greek， not Italian， cheese

    called The Feta-licious.

    But what is real？ In time， everyone

    came to depend upon the diner. Packed

    for breakfast， lunch， pie， and coffee.

    If you need a good plumber⁷，

    go to the Blue Plate and ask for Carl

    who's there talking politics

    with the other long-suffering followers⁸ of Trotsky.

    If you want a sitter， ask the waitstaff，

    Who has a younger sister？

    If you're invited to a potluck， stop

    and buy a whole pie.

    In the town where I grew up，

    there was a diner too， Bev's，

    named after the cook and owner who，

    my mother whispered the first time we went there，

    was a Holocaust⁹ survivor¹⁰.

    When we went for breakfast or a hamburger，

    Bev would wait on us， her tattoo¹¹ shining

    on her thick， damp wrist. She was not Jewish，

    but Czech and Catholic. She kept an Infant of Prague

    by the cash register and changed

    his tiny satin outfits¹² to match the seasons.

    But she didn't make pie and her mashed potatoes

    came from the same box as my mother's.

    Bev's food wasn't good， only better than nothing.

    Just like being a death camp survivor，

    Bev told my mother， wasn't a good thing to be，

    only better than not being.

    My mother is dead now. Bev too.

    My mother wasn't a good cook either， rarely made pies.

    I can， but I like the ones at the Blue Plate

    better. Dutch Apple， Three Berry， Lemon with Mile-

    High Meringue. The trouble with meringue，

    my mother said once， is that it weeps.

    Amazing， I thought， sad pie

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