Claire Scott’s most recent poem to appear here was “Fact Checking Fake News” (July 2019). 

Saturday Night at Ryokos
By Claire Scott

my mother plays the victim card
like a poker player plays a royal flush
avoiding the shadowy recesses
of her circuitous soul—see Carl Jung

I wobble heavy trays
of sushi to tables of inebriated folk
with fat wallets and smug smiles
since my mother refused to pay

for Parson’s School of Design
or Le Cordon Bleu in Paris
ten years, no raise, no promotion
the owner favors blonds
with slender thighs

my mother outsources blame
insists it’s my fault
not realizing she ruined my future
years ago—see Sigmund Freud

so here I am at Ryoko’s
on a dreary Saturday night
holding a handful of deuces
would you buy me a drink?