Stripper Kroger: Cheshire Bridge Confessionals

Lyrics

[Intro]

Under the fluorescent hum of Cheshire Bridge Kroger,
2:30 AM, Wednesday, March 15, 2023.
A dancer named Lila pushes a cart,
sequins catching the light like fallen stars.

[Verse 1]
She reaches for the gallon of whole milk,
expiration date April 2,
her nails still painted crimson from the stage at Pink Pony.
The cart wheels squeak on linoleum,
echoing the silence after the club's last call.
A patron in a rumpled suit grabs a box of Trojan Magnums,
avoids her eyes, but she sees the wedding ring anyway.

[Chorus]
These carts carry confessions,
under the cold glow that strips us bare.
No spotlights here, just the beep of the scanner,
pricing our secrets at $4.99 a pound.
Fluorescent mercy, illuminating the bread aisle,
where we all pretend it's just groceries.

[Verse 2]
In the frozen foods section, by the Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia,
a performer named Jax pauses,
remembers the shift that ended at 1:45 AM,
the tips folded into a G-string from Fruit of the Loom.
The overhead lights buzz like unspoken judgments,
but the cart doesn't care,
it holds the microwave burrito and the off-brand aspirin.

[Bridge]

Cheshire Bridge whispers back,
through the hum of the AC unit installed in 2018.
No one's watching, but everyone's seen,
in this opera of plastic bags and regret.
A quiet joke: the produce section's always fresh,
unlike the promises made at 3 AM.

[Verse 3]
Lila checks out at register 7,
with the cashier who's worked since 1999,
scans the Lean Cuisine and the bottle of Fiji water.
The total comes to $23.47,
paid in crumpled twenties from her purse.

[Outro]

The doors slide open to the parking lot,
Cheshire Bridge Road waiting outside.
Carts returned, confessions shelved,
until the next late-night run.