Don't Test Me

Fair warning.

This is the shit that possibly runs through a retail worker’s head

when patience gets mistaken for weakness,

when fairness turns into entitlement,

and someone decides to act like a fucking ass.

None of this gets said out loud.

Because we like paying rent.

But don’t confuse silence with peace.

I smiled, I joked, I kept it light

Told you straight, told you polite

Said “Friday,” said “I’ll keep it fair”

You heard your wants, not what was there

“Two whole cases,” cool, no stress

Then you leaned in, tried to flex

“Might take ‘em all,” said real proud

Like the shelf exists to bow

You didn’t want wine

You wanted reign

Empty the shelf

Leave the rest with nothing but stains

I bend, yeah

But I don’t break

Every word you make me repeat

Drags patience closer to the lake

Don’t test the smile

Don’t miss the sign

When the jokes run dry

You’re out of time

I go quiet

That’s your cue

If I start talking

It won’t be cute

I bite my tongue

So you get to leave

Don’t confuse restraint

With fucking peace

Friday hits—guess who’s gone

No call, no show, just carried on

Six damn cases just to be safe

For someone who vanished without a trace

Then you stroll in mid-project loud

Ask dumb shit you could work out

“Did it come in?” — yeah, it did

Eyes work fine, use ‘em, kid

“No boxes?” I said it twice

Still you push like I rolled dice

Front end stressed, cashier drained

Now I’m paged to clean your mess again

I said no

You heard “try harder”

So I broke down stock

Just to make my job fucking harder

Don’t test the smile

Don’t miss the sign

When the jokes run dry

You’re out of time

I go quiet

That’s your cue

If I start talking

It won’t be cute

I hold it back

I keep it capped

You walk out free

Because I don’t snap

You don’t hear the shit I don’t say

You don’t see the lines I don’t cross

You don’t feel the urge to burn it down

Just to show you what patience costs

You call me “no help”

After all that I did

That’s when the room goes dead quiet

And the humor fucking quits

Don’t test the smile

Don’t miss the sign

When the jokes run dry

You’re out of time

I go quiet

That’s your cue

If I start talking

It won’t be cute

I hold it back

I keep it capped

You walk out free

Because I don’t snap

When I go silent

That’s the bell

That’s me choosing not to ruin my life

Over your entitled hell

I kept it civil

I kept it clean

But don’t push your luck

When I stop being seen

You left with your wine.

You left with your boxes.

You didn’t leave with the truth.

That the joke was mercy.