LoBD

Smiling I clench the stem of the wine glass
as I weave through the crowd,
an oppressive throng of people;
I feel clammy and a little nauseous
so I grab a cracker with something
gray on it from a silver platter
and shove it in my mouth;
"Do you like the pate?" a blond woman
with too-white teeth asks?
"mmmm" I nod, feeling the bile rising;
I hide the rest of the cracker in a potted palm
and make a bee-line to the nearest door--
mistakenly exiting through an emergency door
setting off an alarm.

I swallowed one gulp of fresh night air before I turned
to see a mass of people heading toward me.