two steps up and to the right a glass door with a smooth metal handle like a sun dried cotton shirt swings open to a place where strangers and regular’s sit on stools or in booths leaning forward sharing hushed tones while some wait and others accept disappointment as the city outside rushes by
I sense a stranger a cloud without a name half light the other gray no voice to introduce the spirit without a smile, coat, or hat as it enters my thoughts like a midnight diner person, sure footed, a table in sight, back to the corner watching for misplaced stragglers, loners and those wanting … More MINDFUL VISITOR
the whereabouts of being unknown on a traveled road with curves and long straights walking a town, suspicious eyes whispers and turns brother can you spare, where the diner is? a meal like others, garnished with haste to the road outside that knows my name we are friends
wet pavement rain washes city dust polishing the rust with heavens night showers shining sidewalks beneath an all night diners neon’s ruffled muted images drip past the front door into refuge where sinners have no regrets as they speak of never enough time while exchanging ideas of washed over without washed out … More NIGHT GATHERING
Open boxcars men failed at chance broken families seasons to forget miles separate the pain turned up collars faded jeans empty pockets soft eyes yesterdays meal from garbage cans behind a diner at a river town bayous and bridges sand and deserts push on engines running hot grease and creosote luck long gone past … More RUNNING AWAY
A song of night the slow creep of cars heading for the next town and wayside roads where broken hearts gather at an empty desert gas station someone reads “The Howl” out loud the fear and dreams we live up to bus driver’s work the road curious eyes imagine the release of … More CRESTED LIZARD
Just past midnight there’s a revival of stragglers and empty pocket musicians at a corner diner where the boisterous aroma of grease and burnt toast fill stagnant air. Writers with frayed collars, artists wearing scuffed shoes and actors not yet acting sit on red vinyl seats around black formica tables. There is rebellion in crooked … More OPEN FOR A CHANCE
Night, the mystery, the closed eyes of day where shadows appear larger and forbidding. Lonely dogs send howls of sadness into cold air. Cats prowl on silver paws. Street lights make an attempt to provide safety. Corner clubs become revived with music. There is a chorus of moving tires and workers on buses. Voices round … More FACE OF NIGHT
An overhead subway creeps between brownstones. Sharp shadows like falling venetian blinds cut across the moving cars. From the street below steam pipes belch gray mists. Visions of the city become abstracts of other visions; seldom is there a clear choice. Late night diners with doors open and tables full of lively hand conversations, … More WASHED OVER
Unfinished crosswords and cigarettes feed the granite regulars at the diner. Torn vinyl and stained tiles welcome neighborhood regulars; black rimmed glasses, uncombed hair, cowboy boots, long sleeve shirts and a variety of hats. The food lacks life. Coffee fuels the thoughts. The place is a safety net dipped in grease. The radio stales the … More TAKE A SEAT
Roger Singer 