I live on the beach, not on a postcard.

I live on the beach, not on a postcard. 

That was always the thing that got me: everyone telling me I lived in paradise: the vision of sugar sand and Curacao- blue oceans (that even taste like oranges, right? It is Florida). Bring your children here, they've outlawed curse-words forever. And every local is a lifeguard so you don't have to buy them
floaties if you don't want to (and if you don't want to, you clearly have something against adorable family photos).

I work at a fucking T.J. Maxx.

I remember when they ripped up all the native trees down town
and replaced them with palm trees.
They keep replacing them with palm trees
because the fucking things won't keep living.

I also work at a decrepit, locally owned Dollar Theater. Our best nights of the week are when we show children's movies. Parents love bringing children to the only movie theater in town that sells Drought Beer and bottom-shelf wine.

we find ourselves smoking...

again.
on the stoop outside work
watching traffic.
(It's mostly tourists).
We're getting through this

one

glass

of wine

at

a time.

(like usual)

putting out our cigarettes in empty beer bottles

 or flicking them at mini-vans that drive by.

Wayne's there with his motorcycle, like clockwork, for the free Amber Back we give him during our after-hours binge drinking session that costs the place I-don't-even-know-what. He's like... sixty million years old and has hand tattoos, but he's got a boyish face and charm about him. We're all so different in age because that's the kind of place this is.

i'm biking home now because i finally got my DUI

i'll see you all in Hell

(where we belong)

because i'm going to see you tomorrow

at T.J. Maxx

fuck you, i thought you were lonely, i thought you wanted to hang out.

you're right

i'm not drunk enough yet to sleep alone

you know i've got wine at my place
i know that of pretty much every place.

cool, we'll get out of here then whenever the traffic lets up. it's almost midnight, they'll probably all be settled in their bar stools soon. 

yeah okay
can i get another cigarette?

people shouldn't bring their children here.