Kathleen Kelly, Shopgirl 6:25

i go online
my breath catches
in my chest
until i hear
three
little
words
you've. got. mail.

in the night
laying next to frank
when you fight
it's joe that you can thank
when your life
is getting out of hand
it's ny152
who tells you to take a stand

kathleen
lone reed
standing tall
waving proudly
in the corrupt
sands of commerce

Joe Fox, NY152 5:10

when joe fox comes to town
to shut your bookstore down
outfox you without a sound
you better hold your ground

joe has no mercy
joe has no soul
joe will eat you up
and swallow you whole
but deep inside his heart
a playful lover stirs
but it's too late to save him
he won't get what he deserves

he takes his with olives but his father has a gibson
he blames it on patricia but we both know who he's missing
the victory is hollow and inside he wants to scream
and the shop around the corner is now the shop that haunts his dreams

how can he deceive her? No!
even though he brings her flowers
she still doesn't know
what's so wrong with being personal?
how could she ever forgive him?
we will never know

Frank and Patricia, the true stars of this film; whereas Joe and Kathleen’s relationship was manipulative and cruel, theirs could be pure and righteous 9:49

the woman on the tv
pales compared to her
patricia's at the party
she's vibrant with allure
and frank is smart and charming
star of the literary world
patricia's heart beats faster
she wants to be his girl

joe and kathleen are a cautionary tale
a relationship lain upon the altar of sales
where none can be happy unless one of them fails
and duplicitous secrecy somehow prevails

frank and patricia are pure in their dream
a self-absorbed king and his neurotic queen
but their failings are honest and just what they seem
and their love, in spite of that, carries a gleam…

a glimmer of hope in a capitalist world
where an asshole like joe can still get the girl
in a city of lust and compromised morals
where once kathleen laughed with her mother and twirled

but now she has sacrificed all that entailed
her shop is in ruins so joe's can prevail
but frank and patricia transcend through the veil
without needing bullshit like aol mail

Rest Stop Pervert 5:16

i see you
by the vending machine
what are you buying, chips?
buying chips?
big texas cinnamon roll?

if your fingers get dirty
from your snack
i can lick them
clean
lick them clean

i'm in the parking lot
i'm in the bathroom

Night Deposit 4:16

sometimes at night i can't fall asleep
sometimes i just close my eyes and relax
dreaming about deposits at the bank
dreaming about the slot in the back