.

Shop Girls

Shop girls
smoke cigarettes for lunch,
exhale gossip on who’s having it off and who’s up the duff,
and what to wear
(giving unrestricted access to all erogenous regions)

Shop girls
talk about fucking
and how they’re in their element gazing up at the stars;
kicking clouds
(have they got enough money left for the morning after pill?)
It serves as an antidote to worrying about varicose veins
or standing on their fallen arches.

Shop girls
chew gum, noisily
can look quite scary with a tightly pulled back ponytail,
and say things like:
“have a nice day” (or “I’ve had him he were shite.”)
“Please come again.”

Shop girls

like to let their hair down without worrying (about gonorrhoea
and chlamydia),
and you can always find them during happy hour
having fun; giggling.
Shop girls
are the salt of the earth
god bless each and everyone.

©2008 P.A.Levy

First published 2010 by Spoken War (magazine closed)