POEM - What Cherry Coke Means to Me

One more lunchtime
Found me sauntering
Headed for Campus Discounts
A recently captive badger
On self-imposed furlough
From the hallowed halls of Tucson High
Yearning for cheap popcorn
And anything else
As long as it wan't school

Loitering for all I was worth
I got dragged into the riptide
Of passing fellow former inmates
As they swept across the street
Up the stairs over the record store
Through the enticing scent filled doors
Of Grandma Tony's Pizza
To grab a slice
Play the eternally free pinball
Order up a round of cherry Cokes
Made to order
The intoxicating maraschino nectar
Infusing the caramel colored tonic
The libation of truancy
Cure for the common education