POEM


Some may think it
unwise for a man
in my condition (in
the last throes of
an all-too-common cold)
to walk from his
apartment down along the
Hudson for two hours
on a cold and
windy March afternoon, but
I say it's worth pneu-
monia to end up
at a diner at
52nd and 10th and
be served a burger
deluxe by a waitress
named Rada.