An Italian Restaurant In Belfast

By Paul McCann

Anyway there I was on my way through town when I walked into this Italian restaurant in the centre of Belfast .
I sat down and began sipping this red wine until I was drunk,
watching people outside in Chichester Street walking past .
You could say just for a moment as I sat there with my fork and plate
at my table for one by the window near the door
I felt like a goldfish out of a bowl,
or like a bowler hat in need of a good head,
or like a stranger on the shore.
Anyway your man the waiter says to me
and it still haunts me let me tell you
"Would you like some quiet Lanza with that ?"
"Sure" I said .
So the next thing I knew I was in a sense of wonder
Lanza was lingering and this was where I was at.
An aroma of romance swept through this wee Italian restaurant in Belfast.
like a rose upon a cold city street
like the soft melody sung from a currah  boat in Venice
or like a magic dance on a river that had found its feet,
I was floating away in the middle of the day
and your man the waiter he came back and whispered,
"Would you like the bill?"
"Sure" I said .
I was drunk on love as twilight fell down on Chichester Street,
and I just sat there sipping more red wine until . I decided to get up on my own two feet and either pay up or make a run for it .Half of me wanted to run .But the better half of me paid the bill and I slowly walked out to where the night life of Belfast had only just begun .