Ghost of a Kung Pao Chicken – Part 2

I’m a server at an Americanized Chinese restaurant. This is based on real experiences: Caroline ate fried rice at one of the nineteen empty patio tables collecting dust that Thursday morning. When she started working at Lee’s Family Kitchen four years before, mornings included a gracious and considerate assortment of noodles and protein cooked fresh … Continue reading Ghost of a Kung Pao Chicken – Part 2 →

Ghost of a Kung Pao Chicken – Part 1

I'm a server at an Americanized Chinese restaurant. This is based on real experiences: The news confirmed the first local cases on a Tuesday evening, but Nel and Caroline read the news on Wednesday. Nel’s fingers throbbed from the wrong weight of bowling ball as his phone buzzed relentlessly with message after panicked message until … Continue reading Ghost of a Kung Pao Chicken – Part 1 →

“Villanelle of Career Choice” – Day 16 of National Poetry Month

The circus took me in and gave me bread. They stashed me in the dining car And taught me how to work and where to lay my head. I took in every word they said But found it so bizarre: The circus took me in and gave me bread. My family, if they cared, assumed … Continue reading “Villanelle of Career Choice” – Day 16 of National Poetry Month →