Greasy

Deborah Osborne

“Tu-whit, to who – a merry note,/while greasy Joan doth keel the pot.”
~Shakespeare in Love’s Labours Lost

the old building has Battenfeld Grease and Oil scrolled atop it
you can see it from the I-190
I passed it for decades and never noticed
yesterday I could see it lit inside as if by candle
so many things one never considers
like places that make grease
so many types of grease
barium grease
sodium grease
calcium grease
calcium sulfonate grease
aluminum complex grease
lithium complex grease
bentone grease
silica gel grease
polyurea grease

and more

a poem full of grease

later, Cecilia says “greasy Joan”
and I google
it’s Shakespeare in Love’s Labours Lost
but the love of grease is not lost in labor
it’s right off the highway
lit like a red brick whaling ship
waiting to be found