two knees for the price of one

the old chef,

with his titled white hat,

comes by the table to say

hello.

he shows

me

the scar where they cut

open his leg

and put in

a new ball bearing

of a knee.

it's a thin

red

ripple of a line

running from shin bone

to the thigh.

he demonstrates

how he

can bend it,

forward and backwards,

almost the same

as when he was a young man.

what are you waiting for,

he says,

there's a sale on, two

knees for the price

of one.

do it now.

while you

still have time.

then he limps back to

the kitchen

to stir the clam chowder,

and to put out a fire.