The Regulars

A day in the life of a diner waitress.

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

We have the same knuckles,
cheekbones,
flick of the wrist
as we tip edges of
coffee mugs to
lips in diner windows.
His headphones whisper Otis Redding,
quiet love songs
mine shout The Doors until I forget
the name of this and other places;
these distractions seem unending
keep us daily
in red plastic booths,
cups full and warm,
lipstick pressed on the rim of mine.

© Alexandra Bragg, 2019. First published in “An Anthology of Emerging Poets, 2019,” compiled and released by Z Publishing.