Already doing the work of at least two people
my boss walks around in a middle aged haze
while espousing his unique brand of wisdom:

“Do your best and F the rest,”
he says, leaving for his third cigarette break
“At least I’ve got you to depend on, Chris.”

And then I hand him the kicker

“Gaetan, how much do you want to bet
the quarantine period for Chickenpox
is 7 days?”

“I bet your next paycheque it’s only 4.5.”
he answers wryly
“Cause that’s all the leave you have left.”

He lost the bet

Already doing the work of at least two people
I supervise my son
the fluffs of red crinkle art he plays with
a reflection of his face and arms

“Daddy, how much longer do I have to stay in
with these Chicken Pops?” he asks

“No sense worrying about it Jason,” I says
keeping the next line my boss would have espoused
to myself though like him
about to leave for my third cigarette break

We only have 4.5 more days to go


© 1988

910 hits as of December 2023

04/19/2016

Posted on 04/19/2016
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti