Mid-Day Shift

The waitresses all lean against
the bar and text out messages
towards who they’d rather be with.
No one likes the mid-day shift
with all the empty tables
and the old man watching sports
who only stops when they are
pouring him a drink.
They are normally encumbered
by the weight of stranger’s anecdotes,
but today it all was silent and the only
thing to hear was the music through
the speakers in the walls.
So there they wait making nothing
when they could be doing anything.
Out of boredom they close themselves
in the walk-in freezer and shiver.
It wasn’t great but it distracted them
from thinking.
The spray paint murals on the walls
were put there by a company.
Everything about the place was hollow.
After punching out they walk to their cars
as the parking lot is filling up with business.
Sometimes you aren’t invited to the party.