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Bygone Diner
looking cleaner than ever
yet I’ve not seen a solitary vehicle
facing down a single one of those posts
since at least the beginning of 2020
and I imagine the slow stream of hikers
trickling down from the Appalachian Trail
dried up considerably over the past two years
so this local icon of greasy Americana
is likely to have found the end of this road
off to get its kicks on the great Route 66 in the sky
it’s been years since I could eat anything on the menu
allergies abound anymore; I will long recall with affection
vestigial roadside cuisine on formica tabletops
both of which were increasingly rare
as time went on and left this diner behind
for those of us retaining a poignant appreciation
for its era to enjoy at intervals, a softly recurring dream
