On leave in New York City
decked out in my number one’s*
Canada flashes and badges of gold
agleam, I enter Tiffany’s
well before Truman Capote
Holly Golightly and Hollywood
present its refined opulence
to the world.
Needing change for a dollar
I pose my dilemma
to a sartorially perfect gentleman
courtly as a knight.
He extends a hand
places the bill in a cylinder
pops it into a vacuum tube
and Whooooooosh! it is borne aloft.
My surroundings snap into focus:
precious gems wink seductively
elegant women glide sedately
toward a phalanx of waiting clerks.
I smile uneasily.
My gentleman smiles back.
The cylinder returns. A sprinkle
of silver is placed in my palm.
“Do have a pleasant day,” he bids.
I square my shoulders, escape
through magnificent glass doors
into Fifth Avenue’s heady air.
– Rosalee van Stelten
[* best uniform]
