poem Vegetarian Stands by the Meat Sale, a poem about the doldrums while working on a rainy day By Chicago Poet Janet Kuypers

[the Writing of Kuypers] [JanetKuypers.com] [Bio] [Poems] [Prose]

Watch the YouTube video

of Kuypers reading this poem at the open mike 5/9/12 at Gallery Cabaret’s the Café Gallery in Chicago (W/ by live piano music from Gary)

Watch the YouTube video
of Kuypers’ open mike 5/9/12 at Gallery Cabaret’s the Café Gallery in Chicago, plus her poetry (w/ live piano from Gary)

Watch this Youtube video
of Janet Kuypers 5/18/13 reading this poem
“Vegetarian Stands by the Meat Sale” in Nashville TN in the Tag Team feature reading

Watch this Youtube video
of the Janet Kuypers & C Ra McGuirt “Tag Team” 1+ hour feature in Nashville 5/18/13 (which includes this poem)

Download this in a free 5/18/13 chapbook
the Tag Team Reading, of poems slated
for the Janet Kuypers/C Ra McGuirt book “Tag Team Poets”

See YouTube video
of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Vegetarian Stands by the Meat Sale from the Jan./Feb. 2014 issue of Down in the Dirt magazine, titled I Pull the Strings, live 2/26/14 at the open mic she hosts the Café Gallery (every other Wednesday at Gallery Cabaret) in Chicago (C)

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Vegetarian Stands by the Meat Sale from the Jan./Feb. 2014 issue of Down in the Dirt magazine, titled I Pull the Strings, live 2/26/14 at the open mic she hosts the Café Gallery (every other Wednesday at Gallery Cabaret) in Chicago (S)

See YouTube video
of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Vegetarian Stands by the Meat Sale live 7/25/15 on Chicago’s WZRD 88.3 FM radio (Cfs)

See YouTube video
of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Vegetarian Stands by the Meat Sale live 7/25/15 on Chicago’s WZRD 88.3 FM radio (Cfs200, FlCrSat)

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems one by one, the beech trees fell, Vegetarian Stands by the Meat Sale, and My Future Job Options 1/31/16 at the Austin music open mic Kick Butt Poetry (Cps).

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems one by one, the beech trees fell, Vegetarian Stands by the Meat Sale, and My Future Job Options 1/31/16 at the Austin music open mic Kick Butt Poetry (Nikon).

Vegetarian Stands
by the Meat Sale
Janet Kuypers
5/6/12
it’s raining out,
and no one wants to be outside.
and if they do come here,
they just want to get the bare essentials
and get home as quickly as they can.
they surely don’t want to contend
with me, just trying to make a living.
a huge clock looms at the opposite wall.
i keep glancing at the time, and think
of the huge calendar looking over new york
in Atlas Shrugged, as everyone is reduced
to merely trudging through their days.
someone just wished me good luck,
because i think everyone would rather be
sleeping than here. and it’s true.
i just glanced at that clock again.
i’m only one eighth the way
through my day. and this woman
who has chosen to not have children
has to keep smiling despite the weather
and fawn over every passing child i see.
this vegetarian stands next to the sign
saying “hot ham” is the deli sale today,
as employees place baked and fried chicken
in packages for sale behind me.
i try to smile, because it’s my job,
even though it’s raining outside,
as the second hand on the clock clicks
more slowly today.

my hand to an anim of jkchair