MICHAEL DENNIS MOONEY -- new writings

Thank you for your coffee pot
Which greets our wakings fresh and hot.
Also, for thick thirsty towels
Awaiting us on sturdy dowels.
For sulfurous hot water, for mild soap,
Without which we could never cope.
For sectioned grapefruit and quartered orange.
For carpeted hall and oiled door hinge.
For many an amenity,
Especially including your a/c:
Made us comfy as a manatee
In a spring-fed stream.
And did I mention your TV?
And lime and tonic and Old Bombay?

Thank you for bottles of Mexican beer
And for your stories filled with cheer.
For vessels of pink lemonade,
Renowned, on hot days, as a thinking aid.
For frosty glasses chucked with ice.
For sunscreen, and for travel advice.
For sizzling fish-fry sandwiches
With tartar sauce and lemon wedge.
Then soup! Chilled cilantro tomato lentil!
Then, feet up! The Sunday Orlando Sentinel!
Ah! As we fly home across the nation,
Thankful of such citrusy hydration,
We will remember ever after
Your bright grin and genial laughter.