“Lunchroom Odyssey” is a poem written and read by Maxwell Vagus , featured on Season 2: Episode 3 of The Atomic Voodoo Lounge Podcast.

“Lunchroom Odyssey”

What gods have I angered in my short life

That once a school day I am cast adrift

To walk upon mop-streaked linoleum,

Scanning a tabled sea for just one friend,

Soft harbor in a swell of misery?

/

What hubris did I display or boast make

That I should descend to such a rancid place,

Loath to meet the eyes of reddened faces

Which laugh and point over lunchbox debris

As I step gingerly across their stage?

/

What home will there be to return to now?

An adolescent eternity spent

Floating betwixt Scylla and Charybdis,

Balancing plastic trays, strengthened my will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to spill.

The Atomic Voodoo Lounge | Speculative Noir Literary Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free — LIKE TOTALLY, DUDE! — subscriber.

Get full access to The Atomic Voodoo Lounge | Speculative Noir Literary Podcast at www.atomicvoodoolounge.com/subscribe