I
When the lines
      snaked
from
      the
stand
      to
 the
     box
office
around
10 ‘o’ clock,
Butter spilled I tripped, s li   pp ed,
KABOOM! on the greasy tile floor.
      The medium plain popcorn flew from my hands to a middle aged mother’s crisp white shirt.
      My co-workers giggled,
Then yanked me up.
I advised no one to run.

II
It’s Star Wars night at 20 Grand!
      After serving stoned nerds M&Ms and extra-buttery popcorn, Pat has joined the dark side, by chasing pint sized Jedis  in his newly purchased Darth Vader suit.
Shawn W. tosses me a light saber, we began to battle.
The concession crew cleans,
While the rest sit, drink the courtesy pop, And talk of George Lucus’ genius.
It’s Star Wars night at 20 grand!
As crowds clear out,
Lights dim,
And voices hush,
We become lost in
a galaxy
far far
 away.

III
I like Tim Agnew.
He composes poetry on brown paper bags,
                  Abandons them on the counter for employees to enjoy.
At times he forgets books in the break-room.
      I’ll carry them to concessions to skim through, sometimes read.
Yesterday,
He bought sour skittles, and offered me the blues.
      I like
                  Tim Agnew.
Hopefully, he’ll write me a poem on a paper bag tonight.

IV
The sign burnt out again tonight.
Every customer feels it is their duty to inform me that the neon rainbow of blue, red, and white isn’t flashing.
      O hyes, and the zero is out.
Now instead of 20 Grand, it blinks
            2 Grand…
Walt, the night manager, thinks this amusing, mutters.
      “You employees are ‘2’ grand to be getting paid what you do.”
Delicately, he scoops popcorn in his bag, careful not to crush a kernel, Flips the switch on his hearing aid, And strolls away, chuckling at his clever pun, unable to hear the complaints of employees.
$5.15 per hour simply isn’t
e n o u g h.

V
The popcorn never tasted this salty, this stale or dry.
I was here not by choice but because my manager lost the memo:
Allison cannot work October 1st
While my friends jammed at a concert, I was serving sticky sweets and salty popcorn to crabby customers.
It seemed all my usual excuses of a bad cough or strep throat wore out.
Okay, didn’t a relative die tonight?
7 new text messages
      1 I love you
      2 I wish you were here
      3 This band is so hot
      and 1 more

When will you leave this god forsaken place?

I respond with
1 I love you too
2 I wish I was anywhere but here
3 Take some pictures
      and 1 I like the free movies, soda, and popcorn.
But nothing’s playing and the popcorn is too salty, too stale, and too dry.