Smart Set
by Tim Conley
One was from downtown, raincoated,
besmirched by another, two, a shifty sort,
unguessable quantity in social circles but
okay on a one-to-one basis, interrupted
often by three, thus a crowd, prone to
giggle at her own jokes, one after another,
one too many, but four squares such circles,
neat-haired golfer considers himself open-
minded at close of day, at five, the slacker,
uneven in his prime, you have to hand it
to him, though, he has more character than
six, that prisoner of convention, a baker's
assistant desperate for the attentions of
the lucky devil seven, svelte yet angular,
how does he do that, set to charm upright
reclining eight, some say she's infinitely
sexy lying down and she stops and listens,
knows the effect of the hourglass on any
number of onlookers, unlike poor nine, who
tries so hard but by the time anyone gets
around to her no one cares, probably she's
lonesome, first or second in the countdown
to leave the party, home in bed for ten.
Tim Conley is the reviews editor at the online journal _paperplates_ (www.paperplates.org). His fiction, poetry, essays, and translations have
appeared in many journals, including _PRISM international_, _The Midwest
Quarterly_, _Queen Street Quarterly_, and _filling Station_. Most recently,
his chapbook _The Mirror_ was published by BookThug.
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