The person at Waffle Housedrops my card and starts crying.She’s here alone until 2. It’s 2.Kind of hard to avoid the factthat I am part of the problem.With that in mind, how muchof a tip is a good tip, and whereis the line between a good tipand a messiah complex?Trying to quickly stop crying,she asks me, do you ever justget so tired? If she wants toburn down the Waffle House,I’ll go get some kerosene.There are other sandwiches.I offer her Advil. I don’t knowwhat else to do. She declines.Anyway, she says, shakingher head. She’ll be able to sitonce the restaurant is empty,meaning, of course, when I leave.
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Copyright © 2025 by Danny Caine.
All rights reserved.
Reproduced by Poetry Daily with permission.
“Burning Down the Waffle House” is also published in Jewish American Dream, Danny Caine’s chapbook from Sarabande Books, in addition to Barrelhouse 25.
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Christiana Cacciato
Christiana Cacciato
Danny Caine is the author most recently of Jewish American Dream, winner of the inaugural Sarabande Chapbook Prize. He’s also written four poetry collections as well as the books How to Protect Bookstores and Why and How to Resist Amazon and Why. He’s a former owner of the Raven Book Store, winner of Publishers Weekly’s 2022 Bookstore of the Year award. His poetry has appeared in The Slowdown, LitHub, DIAGRAM, HAD, and Barrelhouse. He lives in Ohio.
Barrelhouse is produced by writers for readers who are looking for quality writing with an edge and a sense of humor.
Barrelhouse bridges the gap between serious art and pop culture.
Barrelhouse is a biannual print journal featuring fiction, poetry, interviews, and essays about music, art, and the detritus of popular culture.
Barrelhouse is a web site that regularly posts new short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, book reviews, and other literary things.
Barrelhouse is a small press that puts out roughly two books a year.
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