Nugget – Benjamin Moore AC-9

I breathe the air of this desolate diner,
And trudge upon it’s dusty base.
No other restaurant was any finer,
Than my daddy’s favorite place.

We went there twice a week,
And ordered the same thing.
Talked to the waitress with the rosy cheek,
As my daddy took off his wedding ring.

The white floor was now gray with dust,
The sand now covered my daddy’s leaving ground,
The one where he left me,
I wish he’d stayed around.

They dubbed me what I ate,
Every time I went.
I ordered and didn’t hesitate,
And only she would have it sent.
She would bring me the plate,
Of those golden nuggets,
I’d eat it all as they would confabulate,
In the end it seemed unreal.

The white floor was now gray with dust,
The sand now covered my daddy’s leaving ground,
The one where he left me,
I wish he’d stayed around.

He told me was going,
He told me not where he would dwell,
He left without me knowing,
He smiled and wished me well.

I sat in my booth for what seemed my entire life,
Trying to figure out what I had done wrong,
I carved his name into the table with my knife,
And left crying.

Now, revisiting the place of my childhood shame,
I scanned the vacant room and at the booth I gazed,
And saw my daddy’s name,
But I stepped back and shook my head, amazed.
I sat down on the floor crying as I saw what had been written.
Right under my daddy’s name was one word.
Nugget.

No other restaurant was finer,
Than my daddy’s favorite place.