At Andy’s Deli by Shane Allison

‘Bout lost my mind when I didn’t see the usual.
Where the pies at? I asked the cute, East Indian man
Standing behind the counter.
We sold out, he said.
I didn’t know Hostess Apple Pies were so popular
Among the masses of Greenwich Village.
He knows how much I like my real fruit filling,
The preservatives and artificial flavors.
My world ain’t nothin’ but a flaky crust,
A cream-filled Twinkie.

Gotta get somethin’.
My sweet tooth is killin’ me.
What’s it going to be:
Snowballs?
Ho Ho’s?
Zingers?
Crumb Coffee Cakes?
None of this I like.
Wait, this look good:
Coconut Crunch Donut Delites.
Six in a row.
I’ll take these, I told the clerk.
Place two quarters in his hand.
Pull open the wrapper,
Took the first one out for a taste test,
And right then I knew, this was the last snack cake
That was going to take the place of my everyday routine.




Shane Allison, Florida, USA

ruined everything by shane allison

just came
just came and stole him
just came and stole him right from under me didn’t you
right from beneath me
do you know how under my skin he was
he was this under my skin
until you came along
until you just came coming along
with your dimpled dimples
those eyes perfect as pictures
and screwed it all up
i used to be the only matter that mattered
until you walked into his life
with that walk that you walk with
& walked off with him
when I see you two kissing in the kitchen
kitchen-kissing in the kitchen
i think of how skin deep he was beneath my skin
until you came along & ruined everything.


Shane Allison, Florida, USA