Molly O’Dell

At the Buffet

Her royal blue blouse shimmies

in a shaft of light

 

while she talks with her husband

who throws back his head to laugh.

 

Her hands shake symmetrically,

uncontrollably. Left hand holds her plate

 

while the right one scoops pickled

beets then lifts the top off the stewpot.

 

As they sit and talk I watch

her eat her soup. Each spoonful’s

 

kinetically delivered with a quivery

hand that spills more soup

 

as the tremor’s rate and range

increases the closer the spoon

 

moves towards her mouth. The thing is,

she never winces or whines

 

and her husband doesn’t take his eyes

off hers, try to help or say he’s sorry.

 
 

Molly lives in southwest Virginia and loves being outdoors. She received an MFA from University of Nebraska and her published collections include Off the Chart, a chapbook, Care is A Four Letter Verb, a multi-genre collection and Unsolicited: 96 Saws and Quips from the Wake of the Pandemic, written for her public health colleagues and anyone else tired of SARS Co-V2. Molly can be found online on Instagram @mollyodell1787, Facebook @Molly O’Dell, and her website www.doctormolly.net.