TRYING TO DOZE RESPONSIBLY ON THE F TRAIN by Tim Suermondt

The barely clad women crowd around
And lead me to a long table that holds
Pitchers of beer and thick pizza slices—
Although I must admit I’d rather the women
Wore thick robes and led me to a table
Heavy with serious, great books.
I don’t know if you can believe this latter
Part—I’m afraid I don’t believe it myself.
But I tried, waking up in Queens a happy man.

Tim Suermondt is the author of five full-length collections of poems, the latest Josephine Baker Swimming Pool from MadHat Press, 2019. He has published in Poetry, Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, The Georgia Review, North of Oxford, Bellevue Literary Review, Stand Magazine, december magazine, On the Seawall, Poet Lore and Plume, among many others. He lives in Cambridge (MA) with his wife, the poet Pui Ying Wong.