Two Glasses of Wine
Oh boy, I just saw her. Behind the bar, now
she’s our server. The slender long haired girl.
The woman, my wife says, the young woman.
Yes. I didn’t want wine. My wife orders some.
I’m just hungry but don’t want to disappoint.
We have finished our taxes, so I order a glass
Of the same. I follow the bare waist, slightly
less slight than the circumference of my hands,
like a neck peeking up from her denim pants.
She’s on a mission, asks a question and turns
away before she has to listen. She’s working
to get the number of the man seated between
his mom and my wife. The navel scented
cocktail touched with salt swells into the
impermissible. A blushing thought, a taste
Of split ripe cantaloupe, kissed by the idea
of moonlight. We order pizza but I’m not
thinking anything. I fold a slice, eat with
Purpose, the hot greasy pepperoni. Dab my chin.
I look up only to hand her my payment and
after I’ve set down my pen, adding the tip.
Of course, I thank her when she refills the water.
But I wake at night, to take a cool drink. Water,
paper and pen again resting on my nightstand.
There's never enough space for all of my things.
Aaron D. Wiegert is a poet, editor, and trail runner based in Des Moines, Iowa. He is the author of the forthcoming poetry collection A Portrait of Energy (Luchador Press, an imprint of Spartan Press), and his chapbook manuscript of the same name was recently named a finalist for the 2026 Poetry of the Plains & Prairies Award from North Dakota State University Press.
A Best of the Net nominee, his work has appeared or is forthcoming in Slipstream, South Carolina Review, The Tulane Review, Museum of Americana, Poetry Salzburg Review, and elsewhere. He previously served as the poetry editor for Drunk Monkeys Webzine and earned his Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing from Iowa State University.
As a writer, Wiegert works across a variety of modes—including narrative lyricism, domestic realism, and experimental forms. He lives in the Beaverdale neighborhood of Des Moines with his wife and son, where he also collects vinyl.
