It's Still Life

The Autistic Children’s Menu at the Cafe of Imaginary Dreams

It’s the nuggets.
Always the nuggets.
No sauce.
He hates sauce.

Can I substitute sauce
for waffles, he asks.
May I, says his mother.
Yes you can, says the waitress.

And he hates all the noise.
It’s always the noise.
Knives and forks and plates
and the chewing chewing.

May you turn off the noise, he asks.
Can you, says his mother.
No, says the waitress,
that’s not on the menu.

Written for the Café of Imaginary Dreams: The Children’s Menu. ©Misky 2022 Shared with #amwriting #apoemaday on Twitter