Imposter 4

I am the worst

waitress ever.

Can barely pronounce

half the specials

forget to bring customers

superfluous items

drinks

side dishes

and forks.

Am always frantically

“in the weeds!”

and dread

each and every table

seated in my section.

Prefer hanging out in the kitchen

with the Spanish-speaking staff who

laugh and smile at me

as I stomp and bark

the joke Lucy taught me,

“No mejora, cabrón!”

delivered with a wide grin.

We are all newly arrived,

starting over,

reckless, wild, and alive.

I love sharing shifts with

Crystal, my age

my height

but thinner

with slim hips that the kitchen guys don’t see

commenting instead on my full ones.

She is famous for using

the Heimlich Maneuver to save

a choking customer

who wasn’t even seated in her section.

She gets my humor,

thinks I’m quirky “in a good way.”

Explains New York to me

while constantly pulling me

out of the weeds.