I remember with the vividness
of this lime and mango gelato
how content I used to be
some thirty years ago
living one block from the library,
taking the grimy bus
one and a half hours to my abject job
returning each dusk to my abject apartment
in a strange city: no phone, no TV,
one unreliable friend.
I used to buy those huge cans of V-8
when I could: 3 inches of juice per day.
Lettuce, lentils and bread.