a man came into the coffeeshop
and I force-smiled at him as I gave him his coffee
and he said, What a great smile!
and I was uncertain
was he serious?
did he not see my almost-cry?
and then he said, You must be having a great day.
before he left he told me that my smile was the best part of the whole experience
and I wanted to punch his face off
a trio came into the coffeeshop
a massive stroke-victim in a wheelchair
asking question after question
his dainty, birdlike hand turned awkwardly on his knee
he sort of demands an avocado sandwich, which we don't have
and as he's asking questions, an uncertain woman comes to the counter
so I take her order
while she's ordering, the child with the wheelchaired man
interrupts to ask if we have banana bread
and we don't
I tell her to hold on.
while I'm helping the other woman,
a man with a thick german accent pushes up to the counter
and asks if the pork sandwich
is served hot.
I have to tell him to hold on.
I have to ask all of these people to stop interrupting each other
and the man in the wheelchair makes me want to cry
because his left side is so soft, saggy, delicate
and he is so demanding & angry.
I wonder, would I be, too
I am going on a very long vacation starting now
I have no idea to where
or when I will be back
or if
bc we're 28 yrs old still
& I'm not too curious