Lyrical Somerville

Many of the java joints in Davis Square are written about all the time.
But how about Union Square? Here is a poem I wrote about my favorite caf√© in my ‚Äòhood: ‚ÄúPoem for the Sherman Caf√©‚Äù –Union Square, Somerville, Mass. To have your work considered for the ‚ÄúLyrical‚Äù send it to :Doug Holder  25 School St. Somerville, Mass. 02143 dougholder@postharvard.edu

POEM FOR THE SHERMAN CAFÉ
(UNION SQUARE- SOMERVILLE,MASS. )

And who was or is
Sherman anyway?
As mysterious
As the bathroom
Wallpapered with
Satiric headlines
Of a defunct rag–
A rare species
Of newsprint graffiti.

The joint whines
Leonard Cohen
And the long-fingered
Women in the back
Knead the dough
Slapping them into scones–

Oh yes
And the lovers…
Across from one another
Their laptop screens almost touching
Tapping out their
Ritualistic song…

Yes
We are here
The gray beards
The purple-haired
The nose-ringed
The broken
High-pitched
Tragedy
Of sad
Comic voices
Some even
Offering gifts
To the help…

We
All sit,

And sip…

—Doug Holder