Epistle^4 Poem by Morgan Michaels

as he reached into a drawer and withdrew
a free tube of Aquaphor (a skin protector)
'take this, it's better than antibiotics'
'Sure', I said, amazed at my good luck-
I love freebies; if it's free, it's me.
Here I quote my friend Bob;
At the desk a pretty manager smiled mysteriously and sang
'yes, they'll be no co-pay today'. I nearly fainted.
As I strolled to Second Avenue in the bright sunlight.
A bus pulled up as I reached the stop, just. An express!
On to Goldberger's.
Second Avenue is open at that point-
the crabby blocks of subway construction past-
we drove bumpily along
and I got the notion for this poem.
At Goldberger's my creme was ready, already,
'Ready and waiting', smiled the pharmacist, shaking the bag.
Pausing long enough to inspect their stock of ear-plugs
I paid and left, covering the blocks, briskly,
rowing through the cold with one arm
to the optometrist at Seventieth and York:
Fighting butterflies, I shot to the Eleventh floor...