Can My Family Come

The newly refurbished theater
opened its doors on Friday,
with a screening of the latest summer blockbuster.
Patrons overflowed from concessions into the street.
Some queued for two hours to get Cajun tots,
while Dave Matthews blared from the balcony speaker,
as if nostalgia could anchor them.

Around 8:15pm, I walked by to suss out the vibe
and noticed a stack of flyers on the sidewalk:
“Family-Friendly Main Street Event
No registration required, no fee—just show up
and bring your people.”

I crouched to inspect the details more closely,
thinking how it’d look on my feed,
but the supervisor said I couldn’t post
in front of the building—it was private property,
though there was the public right of way.

I snapped a quick photo of the top sheet and left
the hard copies to disintegrate,
eager to spread the word on social media.

It’s back in style, all of it:
cargo shorts, cropped tops,
except for the way we used to pretend
that family ties were only for relatives.

We've learned how to stretch our jeans to fit.
But “public” still feels too tight.

by Kayla Kennett