January 2023
Michael Minassian
mikialminassian@gmail.com
Bio Note: I’m a retired English Professor and live with my wife in Northern New Jersey. My poetry collections A Matter of Timing, Time is Not a River, and Morning Calm as well as a chapbook, Jack Pays a Visit, are all available on Amazon.

Quote of the Month: “Any healthy man can go without food for two days--but not without poetry.” ― Baudelaire

The Restaurant of Books

With a wave of my hand,
I invite passersby into my restaurant:

“Here,” I say, “have a seat at this table
next to the window. Compose a sonnet
or a short essay in praise of the view.”

First, I offer a salad of haiku or tanka 
& a glass of quotations
from a vintage year;

followed by a meal carefully balanced
with a memoir or novel, contemporary
American or perhaps a 19th century 
French roman a clef in a new translation.

Dessert is always a thin volume of poems
with a cup of Chinese calligraphy
& for those desiring a digestif,
a philosophic essay on epicurean excess 
or ancient bookbinding may suffice.
“Thank you for coming,” I whisper 
as they leave. Then watch them stumble 
out into the night with full stomachs
& a parting word chosen at random 
from a dictionary or encyclopedia of verse.
Previously appeared in NEBO and my book Time is Not a River
©2023 Michael Minassian
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