duck with plum sauce

my grandmother,

on my father's side,

New England bred, was

poor, but

you wouldn't know it

by her long

manicured nails

and fur coat.

the necklace

and rhinestones she wore.

she loved Liberace

and his candelabras,

and once in the smallest

of New York diners,

as we sat wide eyed

beside her,

eating eggs

and cereal,

she ordered duck

with plum sauce,

and a Cabernet 

from the cellar.