I’d like a senior coffee she says
Are you a senior? You ask
No she says but I’d still like to pay like one
You say You don’t even have any wrinkles
Though it is a lie, she seems very pleased
What if you give me the coffee now
but I wait to drink it? she asks
25-year-old coffee can get pretty cold you say
She is probably only 15 years from being a senior,
but once you’ve started complimenting someone
it’s best not to stop
Not so long to me she says I’m very patient
Patience is a virtue I’ve always wanted you say
She says You need to value yourself more
I’m working at McDonald’s
they’re paying me minimum wage you say
Are these really the sort of people
you want to go around charging full price for? She asks
And you are not sure
M.P. Carver is a poet and artist from Salem, MA. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Paterson Literary Review, Rattle, Mantis, and others. Her second chapbook, Hard Up, is available now from Lily Poetry Review Books. She directs the Massachusetts Poetry Festival and co-founded and edits Molecule: a tiny lit mag.
Image: “Plastic Fantastic Burger by Alex J. Tunney
Pine Hills Review 