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Galleria
by John Petrolino
Galleria, you are not as I remember you
When I was a little boy
You stood there
Guarding the sad entrance to Red Bank
Big and Vacant
Dilapidated
Broken windows, missing bricks, boarded up doors
Galleria, you are not as I remember you
Formative years spent
In the new fronts
You used to have a pool hall
Hours passed and nights spent
Fifteen years old, passing around cigars
Gawking at girls bent over tables
Taking their best shot
Juke box blearing Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Metallica
We were wanna-bees
Rack, set, break, sink, win
Security guards used to badger us
While we waited for our rides
Galleria, you are not as I remember you
Maturing, learning and growing
You used to have a large coffee house
I could go in and greet my friend
The barista, Dayna
She always smiled and had time for me
Vast warehouse room
Dust speckled ventilation
Big windows letting in the afternoon sun
Wooden bare floor, scratched, gouged
Friendly faces
We all used to meet there and talk
Life, love and everything in between
Discovering the madness of the world
Coffee filling the air
In clouds of smoke
I had more dates there than anywhere
Able to quietly contemplate the world
Or talk about it with a stranger you always knew
Galleria, you are not as I remember you
Lonely late nights at the House of Coffee
Take a Shot Billiards became a fondue restaurant
I’d sit and brood over words
Smoking cigarettes until I ran out
An enlisted man from the Navy sat and talked to me
I told him I was a Merchant Officer
Though not of my command
But out of respect,
He ran across the street
And bought me a fresh pack of Marlboros
Dimly lit evening, yellow light creeping in windows
Café bare, few people
Me, the enlisted man and a waitress
Galleria, you are not as I remembered you
One night after work
Torn grease stained shirt and pants
I came to you, I had been away awhile
I walked in
The house of coffee sounded different
As my feet met the floor
Hardness
I felt something different in the air
I sat at the bar
Finally it hit me
Tile floor
Finished wood
Clean bar
I asked the barista
“Can I have a double espresso??? What time are you open until?”
“Don’t worry pal, you have enough time.”
He did not understand
He did not know I’d be there past closing
He did not know I intended on working on pages of my life
He did not know the solace
That the Galleria used to offer
He eyeballed my shabby clothes
Long beard
I sat there for the last time…
Galleria, you are not as I remember you
Restaurants, wraps, fondue, swinky, swanky, metropolitan America - - SUVs, sports cars, suits, ties, capitalism, the bottom line, business meetings, expense, blinders, cell phones, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, every berries, money berries, soccer mom berries, fast lane berries, succubus berries, hypnotized berries, big golden gaudy hoop jewelry berries, ungrateful berries, louis vuitton berries - - and Loneliness Berries
Galleria, you let me down
Where else are we to go to know?