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Drive-in

The waitress asks:
mustard or catsup?
Which do I really prefer?
The time hangs heavily on us–
Couldn’t I leave it to her?

I could say The Works, which would get me
Lettuce and stuff by the head;
But when I want salad I’ll order a salad,
And not have it served between bread.

O why did I order a sandwich?
The question’s as bitter as gall.
The problem of catsup or mustard
Need never have come up at all.

The time for decision is on us;
Let’s whip these things as they occur.
The waitress is standing there primly–
“Catsup or mustard, please, SIR?”

by Ray Romine Wednesday, June 17, 1953

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