sweet lorraine

toledo, circa 1955

walking right in on a

count basie concert
in that old hotel ballroom downtown
not far from the porcelain enamel plant
& department store
my stepfather johnnie & mother ida
worked at
taking us to experience what i now know
as the backbeat
of every clapboard house we ever lived in 
my mother's tongue casserole
endless pots of chili
on the stove
ready to be reheated
when we all came together
for supper
and johnnie would play
sweet lorraine
one more time
on the victrola

--- e b bortz