Scenes from a Hotel Lobby
written by: John Grochalski
@JohnGrochalski
minding
my own business
in the hotel lobby
reading a book
and drinking bad coffee
from the 7-11
and suddenly
there is a fist in my face
when i look up
he’s bald, fat
in a boston red sox jersey
smiling at me
he says,
yo, dude,
you’re the only man
in this lobby
not playing on his phone
he waits until i bump his fist
then walks away
i try to get back to the book
but he’s ruined it
like they always do
the magic is lost
the pages are dull
so i sit there
staring at the wall
waiting for my wife to wake up
and letting
the bad coffee
cool.
John Grochalski is the author of five poetry collections, three novels, and the novella Wolves of Berlin Play Amateur Night at the Flute and Fiddle Pub (Alien Buddha Press 2024). He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Latest posts by John Grochalski (see all)
- Scenes from a Hotel Lobby - January 1, 2025
- Rick the Pilot Walks His Dog During a Climate Crisis - August 13, 2024
- My Neighborhood Capitalist - May 26, 2024
