Post by petra6 on Feb 22, 2022 18:21:13 GMT -5
Hey sugar! Or sweet thing,
or sometimes, good lookin';
That's how Lucy says it
down at the Flyin" J all night
truck stop.
Twenty four years at the stop,
fourteen of them on graveyard.
Midnight crowd usually wanders
over from the late showing at
the four plex.
Then the last call people from
the bar scene, still abuzz about
the new talent down at the
Tip Top gentleman's club.
Between two and four it gets quiet.
The kitchen settles.
Lucy refills the sugars and ketchups,
replaces the creamers.
When it gets still like this,
she wanders over to the half dollar juke,
punches in Willie and turns it kinda low.
"Lay your head upon my pillow..."
She and Rose add up the reciepts,
talk about life.
Rose sips a diet coke and complains
about her new boyfriend.
Lucy says, I'm done with that.
Didn't need a man to put Frank
Through college.Did it with tips
and double shifts.
Besides, she says, its too late now,
too tight in the blouse, thick in the hips,
and of all the thousands of men to come
through here, the hundreds of proposals,
the only one to catch her heart,
forgot his way home.
"Hold your warm and tender body next to mine..."
A little after four the truckers pile outta
their sleepers and line the counter,
all scrubbed and freshly cologned.
Silver chains dangle down from zippered
wallet like a row of ships at anchor.
Here come the rashers of bacon,
rib eye steaks, home fries and gravy
eggs over easy and gallons of tar black coffee.
Dishes clatter, flatware chinks.
In the back, a big man laughs.
Next month she gets two weeks off,
Plans to she her sister in Nevada.
"help me make it through the night."