Fred's Shanty

Sun-baked Asphalt since 1972
Picnic tables of stained oak like Columbus' Santa Maria
Seagulls scour for crumbs, hyenas of the sky
Caw-caw they screech as I gulp down homemade lemonade
Order some clam strips as an appetizer
Tartar sauce from a pump
Signature frankfurters, 12 inches of bliss, a toasted bun,
like the robe of a monarch. A crown of deli mustard, subjects in a basket nearby.
Boats down below, waves splash sporadically.
Connecticut in the summer.
Submarines like bees on a hive at the Base.
I notice my grandfather, toothy from ear to ear, he is
A boy again, sipping his sweet savory tea in its Styrofoam cup, gold through a straw.
A spoonful of chowder, I imagine him swimming to murky
Junk Island, strapping with adolescence.
Lighthouse in the distance, watching over the river,
A cow to a calf, guiding the bitter water to its ocean destiny.

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Joe Carnaroli, age 15
2008 Finalist
Cumming, Georgia
West Forsyth High School
Teacher: John Bush