The Convenience - Rats

"Tell me about it" he said
With a voice like sandpaper plywood
Elemental and strange
So flabbergasted I couldn't even figure out how to exit the 50s style aluminum pipe diner
But I creaked my neck around just the same
To see if I could get eyes on the escape valve
Nodding and muttering an almost imperceptible
"Thank you my man"

A hop, jump, flash and I was out the door
Back on steam and concrete
Waiting for Shelby to text me runaround coordinates
Feeling like jail on my eyelids
And spitting white ash from my nose

In the blinding sun I could finally now see where I was
Desolation street
Business town, U.S.A.
I cursed Shelby cuz I needed somewhere to be
No supermarkets here
Just designer toothpaste headboards and a bucket load of creeps
Popping their sockets to get a look at the trash heap divas from the safety of their adult arcades
Two fingers for world peace and deliverance
Two fingers for the cafe in absentia

I catch a glimpse of myself in first floor skyscraper glass
Jesus, man I look like a digital ghost
I bristle and pop my raincoat against my neck
The water starts to roll
And I'm standing there shivering in my shoes
Where is a friend when you need one?

In the budget electric light store I see an image of radio heat
Neon angel like the one in the movies
I stop and stare
For a moment I'm no longer too tired to talk
I'm not even living in that second

I whispered something just to make sure I was still there
I was still there, rats