for Sharon

Joe keeps paying the pizza delivery kid
The same amount over and over,
Taking it back and counting it again,
Like numbers were swimming in a bottle.
Joe’s hands playing their own sleight-of-hand
With the bills he was shuffling.
The kid’s face was entirely bemused–
His eyes opened wide with amusement.
Len is laughing and pointing for me
To watch Joe’s strange performance.
Then our host Sharon notices,
And her beautiful laugh begins
To dissipate the swirling miasma with ease,
Even pausing Joe with its heartfelt tones.
I’m mesmerized by Joe’s slapstick stupor,
Like some Emmett Kelly bit in real life.
By this time, the delivery kid
Is getting more stoned on the loud
Confusion of intoxication in the air,
The after-funk of artists in revelry,
Coltrane adding his voice to the mix.
The dazed delivery kid’s smile lingers
When I put an end to Joe’s show,
Rescuing both from the farce,
Tipping the kid a twenty and a wink.