She’s Almost Dorothy Parker
A Chesterfield fast upon her lips
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
A whiskey neat at her fingertips
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
The Corona ribbon
has freely been inked
A story will beckon
before she can blink
If only the mist
will allow her to think
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
A hasty drive in an ash-filled car
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
Then late hours at the hotel bar
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
Now, if the Algonquin
affords her a seat
To lunch with Midtown’s
ever-morphing elite
Then critics will fall
at her yellowing feet
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
A string of lost lovers encased in a fog
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
Another walk with a failing old dog
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
The man she desires
turns out to be gay
A foreclosure notice
yet no way to pay
She’ll inhale her chaser
and then slip away
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
Her cynical visage begins to emerge
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
Caustic quips, fashioned ’bout the arrant “F” word
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
One last line of verse
but nowhere to send
One dime for a call
but nary a friend
One unfinished tale
touts the bitter end
(She’s almost Dorothy Parker)
Anthony C. Hayes is an actor, author, raconteur, rapscallion and bon vivant. A one-time newsboy for the Evening Sun and professional presence at the Washington Herald, Tony’s poetry, photography, humor, and prose have also been featured in Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore!, Destination Maryland, Magic Octopus Magazine, Los Angeles Post-Examiner, Voice of Baltimore, SmartCEO, Alvarez Fiction, and Tales of Blood and Roses. If you notice that his work has been purloined, please let him know. As the Good Book says, “Thou shalt not steal.”