Wednesday, August 18, 2010

With A Smile

(dedicated to all those who MUST work at what they must)

with a smile
as a tug pulls
just below
the loosened sash of her uniform
with a smile
as she brushes
a wayward grasping hand from
a place where it should not be
with a smile
as she returns an order
delivered as requested
with a smile
as the tug grabs her breath
shakes the coffee cups in her hand
sloshing just a bit and then subsiding
with a smile
as she turns
order in hand calls it in
and walks past to the Ladies'
as pain rolls through
and blood trails down her thighs
with a smile
after a half-hour break..
a little peaked she tightens her sash
and returns to the floor
Order Up
with a smile

2 comments:

  1. Pearl, you have a knack with your poems, to capture the minutiae of the everyday--a whole half-hour to recover from the first part of the shift and then to restore the smile to greet customers.
    Imagine, a wooden carving of the word, sits on the mantel in our family room. It is there as a reminder, a focal point for those days when it is difficult to stay centred on things.
    Your poems, also, help me to "imagine" in the everyday.

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  2. Dearest Patricia... Keep reading and I promise to keep writing. Thank you :)

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