Not Olive Garden.
OK, I guess it could be.
The song was the first one on the first mix I gave
my wife. This was before we were dating. We'd
gone to that chain multiple times in friend groups
before I sent this mix over to her
on a CD.
Limitless breadsticks are inevitable.
Wherever you go, carbohydrates are a requirement.
I’ve told people that a little bit of basil and
thyme go a long way. Before we stop and think
why we don’t get sparkling water
at most dining establishments, I want jazz
to connect the sections between us
until there’s no more room for the initial
narrative and I have to go back decades
when my wife and I went on
our first date.
It wasn’t an Italian restaurant,
some bistro.
I had a Rob Roy,
and I still have the button-down shirt that I wore on the
date.
It cost under a dollar at a random thrift store…
Can you believe that one?
When I was a kid, one of my favorite cartoons was
Garfield and he was obsessed with lasagna. Just
think, us both, on our next anniversary sitting
across from one another
shoveling lasagna into our gullets with our
hands and no one even flinches.
We get some Pellegrino to wash everything
down. And the breadsticks are flowing
sprouting up like lilies in spring.
Bottle of red, white, rosé, whatever the hell you
desire. I’ll meet you anytime you want.
Kevin A. Risner is the author of Do Us a Favor (Variant Literature, 2021); You Thought This Was Just Gonna Be About Cleveland, Didn't You (Ghost City Press, 2022); and There's No Future Where We Don't Have Fire (ELJ Editions, forthcoming in 2025)