The Custodian
The silent Custodian makes his rounds
He clocks in, sliding his punchcard
He lets go of a heavy sigh
In one swift motion, he unplugs the generator
He pulls out his cleaning cart
He starts with Dawn, escalates to Ajax
The suds evaporate as he scrubs
The rest is liquidated in Lye
Something he’s never understood about his job
Even after shutting off the power to the lights
Slideshows would play on the walls
He grumbled, but it’d only be 30 seconds longer
Then there’s the last guests
They spill over their cups, rattle the doors
They never stay to the end of his shift
5