100 Lives (Anthology)
Pure Slush Books Vol. 20
Print & e-Pub (Novenber 2020)
Three
nights a week, midnight
to eight-ish (though I always
did my best to disappear briefly
on my 4:20 smoke break, and to
vanish altogether long before
the end of my shift arrived).
But at least I always got paid;
always earned the exact same
paltry pittance no matter how
much or little of myself I left
out there on the floor, no matter
if anyone was watching or not.
Stripping requires acid. I
remember
I always showed up on time and
they always had my acid waiting.
I remember that when I was done
—hours and hours after my shift—
the acid just kept on working.