The Marlboro Manor

Albino

“you the new guy?”

“yeah.”

“my name’s Stoker,” he said.

i shook Stoker’s thin hand

watching a cloud of cigarette smoke

engulf his white hair

he told me he used to flip burgers

at the Burger Shack

but this place was a lot more mellow

that the people here

didn’t really care about condiments

or whether the food was hot or cold

“don’t let it make you too sad,”

he said.  “that’s just the way it is.”

it was advice worth remembering

Uniform

Madeline the head cook

told me to wear all white

so i went to Sears

and bought some painters’ pants

short sleeve cotton shirts and tank tops

and my 1^st lunch shift on the job

an old lady squirted ketchup

all over me

much to the delight of the kitchen crew

and Tammy helped wiped me off

commenting on how firm my stomach was

saying that even though

i didn’t have much of an ass

she was looking forward

to working with me every day

and as she pushed a cart of dirty dishes

into the wash room

i began thinking

this might very well be

the best job in existence

even as i looked out over the dining hall

at what i suspected to be

the truth