Advantages of Restaurants
Food quality has dropped,
Price rises have not stopped,
Selections are decreased,
Most portions aren’t a feast.
Yet still I have to say
I didn’t cook today.
The Most Educational Dinner
If I could welcome any five folks from world history,
To dinner, where the only other person would be me,
From years of thought, here are the people I believe I’d bring—
Mother Theresa, Jesus, Moses, Lincoln, Dr. King.
A Dream Pursued
To chase your dream, fear can’t impede,
Regardless of the chances.
For even if you don’t succeed,
You aren’t your circumstances.
The Change One Word Can Bring
The woman at the restaurant, her life to us unknown,
We could not draw conclusions from the tiny snapshot shown.
But we could not help noticing that she was all alone,
And she ate her whole meal just staring sadly at her phone.
We had no pepper, unlike her, so I asked if she’d share,
And being next to us she nodded yes, but with despair.
Whatever was depressing her, that phone held how she’d fare,
She clearly wanted something badly, but it wasn’t there.
We wished for some idea that perhaps could make her day.
She then looked up as we arose to take our coats and pay.
I told her she was pretty—an impromptu thing to say.
A smile replaced her frown—and then she put her phone away.
Russel Winick started writing poetry after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.
What a delightful group of poems, Russel! Especially, I take heart for pursuing my dream from your casually encouraging line, “You aren’t your circumstances.” I’m fascinated as well by your choice of guests for your dream dinner. I’m sure you’ve already been well educated by thinking over lives and words of these five. In-person meetings raise the level to marvelous, as I recall from visiting you. As for restaurants, I agree, and find that even the serving staff may appreciate that personal word.