Breakfast at the Sock Hop Diner

I wonder what the Chinese elders think 

of the music of The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly

when they come for breakfast 

at the sock hop diner 

in the old neighborhood.

Most have a look on their face

as if they wouldn’t care for this music

even if they could hear it

(which they probably can’t)

Besides, with brows furrowed in heavy concentration

and assisted by loving sons and daughters

to make sure each step lands soft and sure, they are 

simply too busy to pay attention to the lyrics to “Get A Job.” 

I’d suppose they might enjoy some songs of this era

that have lovely orchestrations such as 

“Since I fell For You” or “True Love Ways”

but turning up their hearing aid only to hear

someone bellowing, “Oh baby, that’s-a what I like!”

could be a risky distraction 

when the possibility of a bad fall 

looms with every step

and is probably why they leave

their hearing aides on the bedside table

when their loving sons and daughters

take them to breakfast at the sock hop diner

in the old neighborhood.

—Mel’s Diner, Geary Street, San Francisco, 07/08/25