poem of the day 04.14.14

saturday afternoon at the health food restaurant

and it’s the first decent saturday afternoon in months

so everyone is out

only there are no leaves on the trees yet

and the sun is blinding

so everyone is inside somewhere else to escape the light

this health food restaurant is packed

with muscleheads from the gym across the street

i’m standing behind some blonde

with a baby carriage the size of a small tank

her kid isn’t even in the thing

she’s running around the cramped space of the restaurant

screaming for her calypso smoothie

whatever in the hell that is

it’s her second one too

the little brat dropped the first

and it’s still sitting in a pink puddle on the floor

because no one has the time to clean it

the kid is stopping the waitress from getting salads and protein shakes

to the bodybuilders

the massive baby carriage isn’t helping the matter

but the blonde is too busy texting to notice her kid or the carriage

the muscleheads are too busy flexing their muscles

to see that they aren’t getting their lunch

me?

i should’ve gone food shopping at lloyd’s met

instead of coming in this damned place

but the food here is pretty good

nearly everything on the menu

has a picture of a little heart next to it

just to let me know that i’m treating the body well

i figure a good meal will counterbalance

the whiskey and wine at home

after all, i’m forty now

and i need to start taking care of myself

but coming into this place was a mistake

the first of many that i’ll probably make today

the girls that work here look so put upon

they are sweating and taking too many orders

the sexy one with the tattoo on the back of her neck

keeps looking at me because i’m the only one

standing there not texting or flexing my muscles

or yelling and crying for something that looks like vomit

she thinks my complacency at doing nothing

means that i’m being impatient

but i just don’t have anywhere else to go

on this fine saturday afternoon

the best we’ve seen in months

she keeps telling me that my order is coming

although i haven’t asked her for it once

when she finally hands me the food

she does it with a dramatic gesture just to let me know

how hard this life is

she tells me to enjoy the nice weather outside

but i can tell that she doesn’t mean it

and that’s all right with me.