PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

stopping at

a roadside diner

in North New Jersey

imaginatively named

“Roadside Diner”

It was about 3:30 AM

I go in with a couple friends

It’s an old style diner

like a trip back in time

A girl asks us,

“Are you here?”

I pinch myself to make sure

then say,

“Yeah, we’re here.”

so she goes into the kitchen

another lady comes out

and tells us

we can sit anywhere

We take a booth;

get our coffee

and order food

I feel worried already

but we’re now committed

to eating here

When the time comes

for the second round

of coffee

I ask for more cream

She puts down my cup

still empty

and takes the coffee pot away

She comes back with cream

but no coffee

I’m sitting there like

“What is this?

A fucking Sam Shepard play?”

I have to ask

to get my coffee

Then when we get the check

all the prices are wrong

but I add it up

and it comes out less

than what we should pay

so we just pay up

her total, leave a tip

and then leave the diner

I was glad to be out of there

The reason I never

went into theater

is because I was afraid

I’d get cast

in a Sam Shepard play

and it would be

too weird to handle

and after the diner

that night

I now know just

how right I was