The Zamboni
Pandemonium is a lullaby
and Helvetica is the perfect middle name
then there are words
like thrush
that would still be inelegant
even if they were a type of cake.
But it’s my son’s newest word
that reminds me how letters
get crushed together like the ingredients
of a deranged cook,
this one borrowed from the Italian last name
of a guy named Frank
who in 1949 invented the machine
that enchants every Canadian kid
who watches with frozen cheeks
as the ice rink gets polished
between periods.
Zamboni.
Even I love to say it,
like a trick my tongue is playing in my mouth.
The driver of the machine waves to his little fans
and I can see on his face
that he doesn’t know how lonely he would be
if Frank’s last name
had been Jones.