Blue Balcony 

In the shower, the blue plastic mat is a balcony.
Look at the city.
I can see where they’re building the new light rail station.
I hope everyone can see.

Certainly, not everyone is able to stand drunk in an apartment
and sing a perfect rendition 
of Elvis Presley’s
Heartbreak Hotel.

The cell phone rings.

“Elvis Presley here.”
“Hello, Elvis Presley. This is Molly Ivins with the New York Times.  
I’m calling to write your obituary.”

In the shower, the blue plastic mat is a balcony.
I hope everyone can see. 

—June, 2019

Published by Bee House Journal, August, 2020 and in my first collection, Shops Close Too Early (2022).