April 2022
Margaret Dornaus
mdornaus@centurytel.net
Bio Note: I was born in Oklahoma to storytelling lawyers. It seemed only natural that I would follow in at least one of their footsteps, but by the age of 10, I told my parents I was going to be a writer. It wasn't exactly what they had in mind for me. These days, I find myself telling their stories and mine from my home in the heart of an Arkansas forest. So far, so good. In 2016, I launched my first book of poetry, Prayer for the Dead: Collected Haibun & Tanka Prose, through my small literary press Singing Moon. I won a prize for it. Since then, I've won a few more.

Why I Overtip at the Truck Stop

Because the waitress never asks why I’m eating alone. Or what I do for a living. Or what kind of week I’ve had.

Because she doesn’t blink at what I’m wearing, even though I’m dressed in a faded denim shirt that’s clearly too large for me. With a small tear at the top of the back pleat. And buttons sewn on the right side, instead of the left. And sleeves rolled up more than once to keep the cuffs from obscuring my fingers.

Because she instinctively knows my backstory.

Indian summer
drowning my sorrow
in a fresh cup of Joe
©2022 Margaret Dornaus
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