Waitress

Earnings help wanted long evenings a service toil of trays which exhausted smile the tip Earnings high cut mini her service always the management's eye for sex The table shines coins in ashtrays ashes in plates faces crowded with food Her service "Are you finished?" always the managements eye for neatness Earnings nightly telephone music always the same always the management's ear for music Rude they were loud and their tip was conservative Earnings final tally her husband walked out her child to clothe a decent respectable living her service always the management's eye for atmosphere Published Black Buzzard Press - 1982

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Anil Deo

Date: 5/16/2020 3:54:00 AM

True to life; but many waitresses I encounter are rather past middle-age and painted with the cheap makeup. But I lived in central Virginia until I escape home.

Thomas Wells
Date: 5/16/2020 10:44:00 AM

As you can probably tell, the poem is old. There are no restaurants in the U.S. that have ashtrays, because smoking is prohibited now. I was quite young when I wrote it, which may explain why I created a younger waitress. Thanks!