Photography © Edward S. Gault

 

Summer Slippers

Hazy summer morning
fog surrounded the dormant volcano
while Betty found her footing
in her pink summer slippers
she shuffled down the stairs
to find Adam, her main thrust
red shorts, ribbed shirt
unshaven Italian
scooping coffee grounds
sounds of Howling Wolf
filtered through the stereo
and Betty rocked her hips
Adam smiled, picked up his Fender
played as she shimmied up and down
sweat pouring from her forehead
unbuttoned her pajama top
threw it on the sofa
Adam continued his riffs in the key of G
swaying to the Wolf as his hips moved
side to side to sounds of coffee
percolating in the background
then the song ended
strolling arm in arm
they moved to grab their cups
of freshly brewed coffee,
turned the volume up and moved out
to their deck overlooking the ocean
while Betty purred “Baby, oh baby, you’re the one”
by Bo Diddley, rocking away in her
summer slippers.

 

Marsha Johansen lives in Oceanside, California and holds a Bachelors in Business Management. Her collection of poems called Around the Edges was published in 2018. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Oddball Magazine, PoetryLovers.com, Daily Drunk, SadGirls Club, the Fixed & Free Poetry Anthology and elsewhere.

Edward S. Gault is a poet and fine arts photographer living in Brighton, Massachusetts. His work has appeared in Oddball Magazine, Spectrum, Wilderness House Literary Review, Interlude, Currents, and Encore. His poetry collection, Airhead and Other Poems was published this year by Read and Green Books.