Melanie Browne- Three Poems

Illuminati Pasta Party

I am searching
Trip Advisor
for
"Illuminati Pasta Party"
I need a break
from my addiction
to 24 hr politics,
Tree House Masters,
tiny gun hunters,
& say yes to
the house-dress
and
I expect to see it all:
tricolor bow-ties,
Farfalle a la Vodka,
smoked mozzarella,
delicate ricotta,
I expect to mingle
with the best
and brightest,
I expect some
of them to be
from galaxies
we don't know
about yet,
their eyes
will be on
their shoulders,
They will call me
"Madame Browne"
and refill
my Mimosa when
I take only one
delicate sip,
all of us,
Illuminati,
will eat our
pasta in the shadows
our conversation will
be top secret,
but I expect it will
include buzz words
like "Peanut Butter"
"Wal-Mart Paranoia"
and "heavy Metal salads"
and when I leave
they will have
to deprogram me,
they will probably
spike my cheesecake
and spin me in
endless circles



Just Another Humid Day in Houston

Just another humid day
in Houston,
I am waiting at the red
light but don't press
the gas pedal fast
enough for
the car behind me,
Honk! Honk!
I look in the
rearview mirror,
and see a woman
wearing sunglasses
driving a suburban,
so I just sit there
and smile at her
for a few seconds,
now she thinks I'm
just stupid
and so she lays on
her horn again,
Honk! Honk!
Honk Honk Honk!
so I pull forward and
stop, then pull
forward and stop
again, still smiling,
she turns right
at the next stop
sign, and I
pull into
McDonald's
for a large
unsweet ice tea



Free Speech and Cigarettes

"I'll have some
free speech and
a cigarette,"
I tell the man
at the bar,
He shines a
glass and
dumps in the
ice, pours it
out clear and
clean and sets
it in front of me,
should I start you
a tab? he asks,
nope, I say,
"that's it,"
that'll be nine bucks,
he says,
"hey I thought this
was free speech
happy hour,"
I say with an edge,
"you're five minutes
late," he says
walking to the
guy at the end
of the bar
who is
holding up
a hundred
dollar bill