When Sharon Shuts Up Shop

When Sharon shuts up shop
She waits 'til late
To close the blinds

She reminds the customers
In a quiet voice
That the late nite riot
Must come to an end

And that Sunday she's closed
For business

She feels no need to rush
And usually there aren't any people to rush
But she does the reminder anyway
To the mannequin display
If they listen

She gets a glass of wine from the back
The rack gets her shoes
And the blues get played
Over the radio

She works at a shoe shop
In a little town outside a big city
And from the end of the street
Where Main meets Madigan
You can see the buildings
Beckoning from beyond

She sips and dips her toes
Into pairs she would never wear

Some may find this unsanitary
But most of her wares go unpurchased
So there's really no harm

She could always close earlier
On Saturday nights
But she's getting too old
To do the eight-hour power social shower
Where new people rain upon her
Reviving her from a hard day's work

Instead she goes out as late as she can
Finding the winding down night
As it begins
To lift off the land

She meets it as it goes
And then goes home to sleep
Creeping into bed
As if sneaking past
Her parents' bedroom door
Though she is well past
Birthday thirty-four

She'll sleep in tomorrow
And the shoes will sit tight
Until Monday

For now it's a night
It's a lovely night