paula varjack - shelf life

paula varjack performs - shelf life at fuel, schockoladen. mitte berlin.


ShelfLife
there are times when the boredom
is brain numbing...
when tedium takes its toll
when all i can think of is
the next coffee break
lunch break
tea break
maybe a break - in
would make things more interesting

i find myself lost in repetition
my extensive vocabulary
relegated to
"your total comes to..."
"may i help you..?"
but most of all
"thank you"

Thank you for allowing me to handle your plastic
thank you for entering your pin
thank you for buying
£400 worth of coffeetable books
for your habitat/muji/ikea coffeetable
in your portobello/hoxton/islington
live/work-loft

Good morning!
Thank you for calling...
!Good afternoon!!
Thank you for calling...
Hello!!!! and Thank you for...

Can I tell you something?

I went through
six years of grade school
six years of secondary school
and four years of
higher education
JUST
so i can better articulate
the way to the nearest
tube/theatre/cinema/cashpoint
and ask you if you'd like
a bag for your purchase

and as you walk by
peering in at my goldfish bowl
shop assistant existance
marvelling at a not so rare specimen of
overqualified overeducated cashier

i've got to wonder

is it the till or the shop sign
that renders me safe to stare at
(at least i don't wear a name tag)

but this is just
"life experience"
right?
I have a friend who likes to call it
*research*

so when i write that
award winning feature
with a shop girl main character
who breaks out
finding the girl of her dreams
only to stumble across the cures for
cancer AND aids
she comes across to critics as
oh so real and recognizable

but in the meantime...

Thank you for shopping
Thank you for calling
Is there anything I can help you find and
Did-You-Want-A-Bag?

Category:

Education

Tags:

• shelf
• life
• paula
• varjack
• spoken
• word
• fuel
• performance
• poetry
• retail
• hell