Mona in Amerika #2. by Mike Zone

She’s thinking of meeting

the man in the yellow hat

in tight cut-office denims and a butterfly tank top

she needs a job

enter: Hamburger Joe’s

nearly a trillion served

deep fried burgers, slaw-fries, bacon topped ice-cream

at lightning speed

a stupid hat, $40 uniform fee

must be available: days, nights, weekends, holidays

7 days a week

expect between nine and twenty-four hours

starting pay 25 cents above minimum

it’s within walking distance

saves on bus fare

allows for minor contemplation

on the receding homeland and Sisyphus boulder

mom’s at the axis of it all

which is really the cross roads of delayed death

or immediate death

walking in front of a bus as factory doors close

a dollar over minimum, cashiering at the mart

a circus of value and conflicting time changes

Mona fingering Baltic curls, gazes at her younger sister

back from daycare, sores on her mouth

still hungry but refusing to eat

macaroni hotdog , sloppy joe sauce surprise

call it a “Tidy Joe” on a bun

in her uniform before work

tighter pants for job security

appease the manager with wolfish eyes

light on make-up

so as not to signify

 instant give-away

Mona sighs and asks “is this Amerika?”

Mike Zone is the author of A Farewell to Big Ideas, Void Beneath the Skin, Better than the Movie: 4 Screenplays and Fellow Passengers: Public Transit Poetry, Meditations and Musings. A contributing poet to Mad Swirl and contributing writer to the graphic novel series American Anti-hero by Alien Buddha Press. His poetry and stories have appeared in: Horror Sleaze Trash, The Daily Dope Fiend, Outlaw Poetry, The Rye Whiskey Review, Synchronized Chaos and Triadæ Magazine.