Closing Time

by Mae Grey · 10/03/2026
Published 10/03/2026 15:54

The walk-in stays with you.

It’s a dry, white cold

that lives in the marrow.


The apron is sticky with something.

I smell like the wax on the linoleum

and the soggy corners of boxes.


The screen lit up near the curb.

Four words

and the bus is late.

My thumb is too stiff to type back.

#exhaustion #night shift #service work #urban loneliness #waiting

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