
.
Parking Lot Meditation
.
Steamy, cicada-hot August
softened the macadam
beneath the makeshift oasis
under the linden, where
the deli counter man unfolded his chair
beside a black cadillac.
Outside the restrictions
of painted white lines,
he loosened his apron strings,
wrapped and unwrapped his index finger,
and finally secured the loose ends
beneath his hands.
Surely this was no esplanade
but he knew where to park himself
and what he,
the sun,
this tree,
and his chair
were created for.
He was his own explanation
as his face shone
in the shade.
.

Alan Toltzis grew up North of Oxford and now lives and writes Bucks County. He is the author of The Last Commandment. Recent work has appeared in print and online publications including Hummingbird, Right Hand Pointing, IthacaLit, r.k.v.r.y. Quarterly, and Burningword Literary Journal. Find him online at Alan Toltzis Poetry