table with a view

a table by the window
you tell the waitress
will be fine, but she wants
to steer you
towards the kitchen
near the alley
where the bathrooms are.
no, you say.
by the window with a view,
you repeat.
she smiles and says,
but there's only one of
you. is someone else coming.
maybe, you say.
but it doesn't matter,
I want that table,
that one over there, you
say, pointing at the table
by the window where
no one is sitting.
did you call ahead, she
says, do you have
reservations? those tables
are for call ahead
customers. I can sit
you right here, if you'd
like. but you have to be
careful, the waiters
come through carrying their
trays of food.
so lean in.
and I still think you
can see that empty table
by the window with a view.