Day Job at the 7-11

Kelli Simpson

lips wine thick
stinking drunk,

but on time
stinking drunk, 

but smocked up
leaning on the register
ringing up hours
stinking clock
staggering second hand
stinking boss
smirking on our shoulders
for fuck’s sake, 

may we help you
for fuck’s sake

Kelli Simpson is the winner of the 2021 Poetry Super Highway Poetry Contest. Her work has appeared in Lamplit Underground, Green Ink Poetry, One Art Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. A mother, poet, and former teacher, she makes her home in Norman, Oklahoma.