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Life's Lessons at Work
by Jeffrey ParrenI
started
waiting tables
without experience
yet worked to the top
quickly with my diligence
first by taking on big sections
that required my second-hand inhaling
and a constant wreaking of cigarette smoke
then by doing all this and training someone else
to endure this nightly misery with a smile
but it helped ends meet during college
buying books and necessary items
paying for bowling trips away
the constant money in hand
was somewhat relieving
that I could rely
on myself
finally.
I
continued to
bigger and better
with a similar success
becoming a trainer and leader
taking on roles in the kitchen too
more responsibility meant more stress
and the less money didn't help my cause
so back to waiting tables I did with eagerness
with a new company that branching exponentially it did
I found myself helping open a new location
training new and eager people the job
some had experience and others not
and through this I learned how
pride and knowledge indeed
are different things
they learned
as did
I.
As
life changed
sad days ruled
I worked less & less
and mourned more until
one day I realized the bills
were due and the money was gone
and mom wasn't coming back to life
so I used connections and persistence
to land myself a waiter's career job in NYC
slinging steaks and serving wine daily
in utter awe of the money spent
never had I seen the like
nor dealt so feverishly
with conflict daily
questioning it all
what was
I to do
now?
So
I stayed
and tried my best
to deal with an inferiority
I had yet to ever feel at work
serving overly aggressive people
was not something I was accustomed to
and swallowing my pride every day became
that daunting task that to this day I despise
although my dreading each new table has subsided
now I just realize the person I will never be and
maybe that is the grandest lesson I learned
because never will I become these people
comfortable, fat, and disrespectful
I have learned that I am mostly
a passive person but fight
I will to defend that
person I have
become. 11/18/2008 Author's Note: Not sure if I like this or hate it...
Posted on 11/18/2008
Copyright © 2025 Jeffrey Parren
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by George Hoerner on 11/18/08 at 08:55 PM Well I like it. You've told your story and you've learned something. That's more than a lot of people can say. |
| Posted by Mary Frances Spencer on 11/19/08 at 05:28 AM Each diamond here reminds me of stepping stones along your path. Thanks for sharing! MFS |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 11/20/08 at 12:06 AM The shapes are fascinating - must have taken a lot of time to do that! This is your best, in my mind, in the waiter series. It goes deep into what you've been through and how your observations of the people you've worked with and waited on have shaped you. Very well done. |
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