-the old woman who slept inside the big artificial Frates milk bottle-

I was a counter boy

working the ice cream joint

slurring milk with two scoops 

into vanilla frappes.

sometimes I made

a mess of things.

this happened when

I pulled the stainless

container of frappe substance

from the mixer before the blades

stopped spinning.

working the cash register

was a crime against

Frates Dairy inc.

I was bad at making change

especially when businessman Charles

paid his tab of $2.98

with a 20 dollar bill, a nickel,

two dimes and three pennies.

even now I have a distaste for businessmen.

the manager’s aunt slept

in the backroom on occasion

because back home her oldman

slapped her around from the Ripple.

so..not inside the big artificial Frates milk bottle,

but in the backroom is where she actually slept.

the more I think about things

the better off you’ll be.