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| Protesters demand higher pay at the Tenleytown McDonald's. (WTOP/Savannah Simons) |
this poem is sick but
goes home without pay
the bleach bucket, no
time for a scrub, scrub clean
these working conditions. scrub
this median wage of $10 per/hr
tips included//
this poem makes 44% less
than most poems, turn your head, scrub
clean that busted look on your
face & those
anxious demands
what it's about//the customer?
that can afford to eat out/ but
not tip? that busted
institution, the restaurant industry
your demands aren't better pay
benefits
pensions
citizenship
but a different table
lemon slices
this poem's favorite thing on the menu
an extra side of _____
a raspberry vinaigrette
the check, faster
though you couldn't have
eaten slower
Michelle Marie is author of countless protest letters archived at americanlemon.blogspot.com and a weird piece called "Fucking" in Bluestockings Magazine Issue 4.