Song to a Waitress

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Dealing with Difficult People In the poem, “Song to a Waitress” by Aaron Keesbury, the speaker appears o be a difficult person in a very bad mood. The audience in this poem is the waitress who has to deal with the difficult customer. I can relate more to the waitress than I can the speaker. When dealing with the public I would remind the waitress of three things. First, it is not personal. Second, respond do not react. Third, do not let one bad apple spoil the whole barrel. When the speaker says, “So fill My big fat mug and get the hell away. I don’t want to see your face today.” (lines 12-14) it is not a personal attack on the waitress. He does not even know her and his words are more about himself, than the waitress. She has to think of him like a mechanic would think of a car. He is just a part of the job, it is not personal. People who work in the public have to confront problems not absorb them. While the reader never gets to hear from the waitress, she would be wise to respond and not react. A natural reaction would be to get angry and sneeze in his coffee. A better response would be to respond with brief, polite comments to go along with his, “big hot cup of coffee in a big fat mug.” (2-3). Reacting puts the customer in control, responding puts the waitress in control. Responding allows the waitress to keep her integrity and maintain a good outlook for other customers. The customer in this poem is obviously a bad apple. The waitress would be wise to not let the bad apple spoil the whole barrel. Chances are the rest of her customers will be pleasant and easy to serve. She should concentrate on them, not him. Ignore the bad, reward the good. Even though the speaker in this poem is loud and obnoxious, I relate much more to his audience than him. I naturally have empathy for anyone having to listen to, “Song to a Waitress.” So, even though you
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