WORKING GIRL
T. R. Munday Copyright 2017

She’s a working girl
On Chicago’s South Side
Tryin’ to make it
Through the night

Standin’outside
In her fake fur coat
And her skirt is
Short and tight

High heel shoes
Showin’ off her legs
But man
Her feet are sore

The temperature’s down
Fifteen degrees
And the wind’s blowin’
Even more

She’s seventeen
Claims twenty-one
Looks like she’s
Twenty five

Ten years from now
She’ll pass for forty
If she’s even
Still alive

She watches
As the cars go past
Their paint and chrome
So bright

Flashin’ every
Now and then
Beneath the
City light

Then the traffic light
Turns red
And the cars all stop
In line

She laughs and waves
And gestures
And promises
A good time

She’s got a leather
Shoulder bag
A – hangin’ from
A strap

With a bottle of mouthwash
And a switchblade knife
Amongst the other
Crap

She’s chewin’
Spearmint gum
And she’s smokin’
Menthol Light

She’s not concerned
About her breath
It’s that taste she’s
Tryin’ to fight

She’s sold herself
A thousand times
But she’s not
Keepin’ score

She’ll take your cash
And credit cards
And maybe
Even more

She knows a man who’s buyin’
Phones
Without no
Questions asked

He’ll also handle
Jewelry
And he always
Pays in cash

She stumbles
Every now and then
And shifts from
Side to side

You might think
That she’s been drinkin’
But she’s dancin’
In her mind

She takes the
Pills and powders
Shoots up
Between her toes

And what isn’t goin’
In her veins
Is goin’
Up her nose

Her granma’s
Out in Wicker Park
Her mama
She’s long gone

She don’t know who
Her daddy is
An her brother’s
Out of town

She doesn’t really
Have a home
She’s stayin’
With a friend

But she don’t contribute
To the rent
And that deal’s
Gonna end

She don’t look
That far ahead
She’s tryin’ to make it
Through the night

Standin’ out there
In the cold and the wind
Underneath that old
Street light

The traffic
Drives on past her
And now and then
She’ll wave

She’s standin’
On the sidewalk
With one foot
In the grave