running into the old boss from the mainframe days

i see my

old boss, Hung Van, at the grocery

store.

i cringe,

waiting for him

to yell at me

for not knowing how

to properly

program

a file for the main frame

in the basement

of the office building

we worked in.

you know nothing,

he'd say

to me, slamming his fist

into his desk.

you are lazy,

stupid.

all you think about

is girls

and coffee, lunch

break and happy hour.

you are only

awake when we play

office volleyball

on Wednesdays.

he's about 5 feet two inches

tall, but

a ball of fury.

he has a scarred arm

with three fingers

from his war days fighting

against the VC

in Saigon.

i try to duck away but he sees

me out of the corner

of his eye

and yells out my name.

i pretend i don't hear him,

and slink away.

nothing has changed.