Blacklight Sleaze

Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here

In the middle of this time square booth

filled with smoke and damp carpet

soggy with spilled cheap champagne

and the rows of flashing lights

and plastic bowls half full of salted peanuts

and their discarded shells

miserable tired waitresses

lousy over-priced drinks

I feel sorry for the men sometimes

mostly I just feel contempt

the men with their fertive movements

and blank faces

I feel sorry for Stacy

her face looks like it's been stepped on

her body is like angel food

almost too beautiful to look at

her boyfriend probably doesn't when he hits her

I feel sorry for Lynn

with her expensive lingerie

cheap dime store wigs

trying to hide her identity

she's a Yale graduate

with a huge student loan debt

she hooks a little on the side

I feel sorry for Babette

with her handed down clip-on hair

and large luminous eyes

her adorable accent and broken english can't hide

her drug habit and predatory nature

Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here

dancing naked except for a few sequins

lying to men for drink commissions

I take their room keys and

make promises that I know I won't fullfill

We're all victims in one way or another

we're all here for different reasons

Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here

but I like to sleep all day

and stay out all night

the idea of a straight job

is like the idea of a straight jacket

I like buying clothes

I like eating in expensive restaurants

and taking taxis

I'm pretty and intellegent

sarcastic and selfish

and I'm not going to be doing this forever