Cleaning the bathroom at Starbucks
is an ordeal
you have at most
a 2 minute window
before someone else needs to use it
and when you finish
there's usually someone waiting outside
on their last sip
of their iced quad venti
caramel macchiato
ready
for the inevitable
My best days are spent
in the washroom
10 seconds in
a Chopin nocturne will come on
and I am at peace
with the graffiti on the mirror
and the suspect looking
wadded up toilet paper on the floor
then
the handle jiggles
followed by another
even more violent jiggle
as if to say
break's over numbnuts!
get your 30-year-old ass out here
so I can pee in the sink!
I open the door
and there's a line
wanting to know
why their order wasn't filled
before they placed their order
I open the door
and it all comes rushing in
© 2011 Lee Kitzis
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
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9 comments:
read some of your stuff
your pretty good
it helps to get it out
has been my experience
i cleaned the toilets
at the oklahoma gazette
for over eight years
hello
was surprised i was permitted to be here
thanks for your kind words. always nice to meet a fellow workin' man and fan. it takes awhile to put the comments up cus i screen all of them to flush out the spam links.
Oh i know that pain ohhhh too well. I worked in Gloria Jeans a while back. Which is Australia's version of the Starbucks chain. I was on toilet patrol for about 4 months. I saw that wad of paper, i had the same 2 minute time frame. A double shot venti frappacino almost comes out the wrong end just from looking at it. After taking their last sip on the the way to the toilet. you open the door of the bathroom with the mop in your hand and do an awkward shuffle with the customer. And all the while you're thinking. F*&^. Ive gotta go do it all again in about 10 minutes when this guy is done with his mudding of the toilet.
haha. oh, yeah. i'm familiar with gj's. same shit, different pile. pun intended.
Loved this poem! Hey, you may want to stop by my blog for authors to read about the benefits of indie publishing. I don't have lots for poets (sorry), but there is stuff for those who are publishing books. Please say hi when you visit. Fay of www.fay-moore-blogspot.com
Seems like there is a whole series of poems waiting to be written about what happens at any Starbucks, anywhere...
...the not-so-recently laid-off exec staring out the window...the stay-at-home mom taking out frustration on the barista, who didn't get the fussy drink justquiteright...the desperate networking of people looking for work...high school students wondering wtf this all leads to (as they look around and see the exec, the mom, the desperately networking)...the over-educated, under-employed barista trying to get through the day without burning herself on steaming hot liquids...
I like your work. Keep writing.
anon- thank you so much. like your comment. really spot on. leads me to believe you might be an ex/current employee of the bux.
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