Swiveling on stools,
couples in shorts
chug Cabernet and Coors
as they listen to country music.
My husband plays bass
and Bobby wails Willie
and Waylon, as I sit
at my book table.
On the break, I read poems
from, My Grandmother Smokes
Chesterfields, and customers
hand over $20 bills.
The bar owner bans me
from reading poetry
when the band
demands more money
since their tips shrink
when I start selling books.
So during the break,
I read my poems
on the street corner
and sell books
out of the back
of our camper.
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Sharon Waller Knutson has published eleven poetry books including The Leading Ladies in My Life (Cyberwit 2023) and her twelfth book, My Grandfather is a Cowboy is forthcoming in 2024. Her work has also appeared in more than 50 journals including One Art, Poetry Breakfast and Autumn Sky Poetry Daily. She is the editor of Storyteller Poetry Review.
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Fun poem: if the narrator had been a worse poet the bar owner might have been more welcoming.
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