Frank Brunner

Service 
 
Evie unzips her North Face fleece 
and breathes the Starbucks brand of peace: 
aroma of a twelve-buck Venti, 
the nectar of the cognoscenti. 
She parks her stroller by the fire –                                
daughter a knight, and she the squire –  
hangs up her Coach bag like a banner 
displayed in fine medieval manner 
and draws a straw for young Miss Joan. 
When every errand’s run alone 
even a Tall feels wrong, but wheel your knight          
to flame – then grounds are yours by divine right.

Frank Brunner teaches high school physics in the Adirondacks, where he lives with his wife, children, and a giant Newfoundland dog. Occasionally, the Newfie accompanies Frank to school and helps to demonstrate inertia.