#retail
There once was a fella who farted
A **** that was only half-hearted:
His friend tried to best him
And really impressed him
By ******** a brick when he sharted.
Mar 14
Mar 14, 2026 at 7:23 AM UTC
I stock shelves, oh how life sells
My anger and my hatred
Left behind a life held sacred
Poetry doesn’t pay the bills
If any good, even still
And as I feel myself slip away
To join the boxes stacked atop
I can’t help but wonder
If this life could happen not?
Jul 4, 2023
Jul 4, 2023 at 10:27 AM UTC
a really bad habit to get into
is retail therapy
you know, buying things
when your mental health *****
well i've been stuck in that habit
for a while
and today after school
i went and spent sixty dollars
on things that i didn't even need
Feb 18, 2021
Feb 18, 2021 at 9:26 PM UTC
I dress up and smile
and treat you like I love you
You eat it up
and feel worth
but if I met you in the street
I would could ignore you
It's only because you meet me at my job
my 9-5
that I have to act like you are worth everything
When I come to your 9-5
you have to do the same
As though we are not men and women
we play this sacred game.
If I saw you in the street
I would ignore you
But when you come to my 9-5
I must adore you
Or risk getting my pay
so I can eat and live and be
This dance of men and women
this capitalistic ritual
that makes the world turn
and kills the inner being
of those who dance
for each other
It is a lie
Jul 8, 2020
Jul 8, 2020 at 11:12 PM UTC
Blessed are the sign makers
for they shall do overtime
social distancing notices
and warnings galore…
means extra work
for those who hope to inform.
Reflecting the changes
in a mixed up world…
There’s serif, sans serif, cursive,
leaded, kerned, font smoothed, curled.
Helvetica, Univers, Futura & Gill
Classic fonts urging you - Stand Still!…
Don’t cross that line…
Follow the science… Divine!
Do the 2 metre 2 step
the 1 metre Shimmy…
The retailers are back
saying Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.
Women want to shop…
Blokes just want to be blokes
and stand outside!
It’s a sign of the times folks…Stay Out!
Onside!
Goal!!!
However many trades hit the economic wall
the signmakers & writers out there, they’ll outlive us all!
Blessed are the sign makers!
Jun 29, 2020
Jun 29, 2020 at 4:48 AM UTC
With the grunts and groans of a wakening morn,
A small ball of resentment, fire and scorn,
There are heavy bags haunting your face,
Time goes by on a clock but there is no race.
Days and moments mesh together,
For the dumb, oblivious, ignorant and clever,
Nothing is separate one by one,
Awaken, eat, sleep, done.
The ignorant march out in hordes and laugh,
At the cautious hidden behind masks and glass,
As the docile watch from somewhere in the middle,
Eat, work, sleep little.
Remembrance of the workers clad in cloth,
Their work deemed essential until very last cough,
Mindless sit on stones along the beach,
Whilst the sun cooks their skin, face and feet.
"I'll be ****** if I'm staying in!" someone shouts,
A reckless, stupid, ignorant lout,
Struts into the shop and buys a lazy spa,
Oh how productive, thoughtful and intelligent you are.
Then the workers travel home by train, car or bus,
Get through their front door and take their shoes off with a huff,
Sigh because tomorrow is yet another day,
Trying to persuade morons to simply stay away.
Apr 11, 2020
Apr 11, 2020 at 5:14 PM UTC
Hello, how are you?
I don’t care. My name’s Bruce.
Where’d you get your tattoo?
Now you’re smiling, aren’t you...
Oh you’re not? You’re so rude.
You’ve got a real ****** attitude!
Where’s your manager? Move!
I’m sorry sir-
What seems to be the issue?
Your cashier at register 2.
She doesn’t smile. She’s just rude.
I am so sorry about her. What can I do?
Fire her is what you need to do!
I’m sorry about the wait ma’am,
How can I help you?
Oh yes, hi, my names LuLu.
That last guy was nasty to you.
You deserve better, you do.
Oh it’s no problem-
Nice people like you make me love what I do.
What’s your date of birth, LuLu?
June 26th, 1972.
Nothing seems to be ready...
What were you expecting?
WHAT!? THERE’S NO WAY!
I CALLED IT IN YESTERDAY!
WHY DON’T YOU JUST LOOK IN THE COMPUTER!?
YOU KNOW WHAT- NEVERMIND! JUST STAY!
YOU’RE GOOD FOR NOTHING ANYWAY!
WHO KNOWS WHY YOU EVEN GET PAID?
JUST HAVE IT READY. I’LL BE BACK AT 8!
With tears in my eyes... I’ve cleared the line.
The phone’s still ringing, to no surprise.
Hello, Kaila speaking- how can I help you tonight?
I’VE BEEN ON HOLD FOR AN HOUR!
WHY!?
I apologize sir, we’re very busy Monday nights.
THAT’S NO EXCUSE. MY NAME IS MIKE.
YOU PEOPLE CALLED ABOUT MY GLIMEPERIDE.
I KNOW IT’S READY. I JUST NEED THE PRICE.
Actually, it’s not-
IT’S NOT READY!?
WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE!?
Of course not sir, I-
I sigh.
Another customer steps into line.
I’ll be right with you sir!
Make it quick! I’ve got a cab outside!
How can I be at your service tonight?
I hung up on this other girl. She just wanted to fight.
Maybe you can help me. My name is Mike.
I’m out of my Glimeperide.
Oh, you see sir, your doctor prescribed
Glimeperide-
One tablet daily as needed at night.
These directions can’t be right.
WHAT, DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE?!
No, I-
Kaila, go on break, I will help Mike.
I just got off the phone with Dr. Brennan.
She clarified those directions.
Oh! So you can fill it then?
I’m glad someone knows what they’re doing man.
Jan 29, 2019
Jan 29, 2019 at 4:59 AM UTC
Forever off-white tiles that never
be anything else by the color of pale *****
daily bleached floors cover up the smell
of what is otherwise known as decay
the man behind the counter
has a weak smile and a dying heart
his eyes drain of color each day
there was fire in his blood
but the righteous flame has grown cold
you pay for the fuel and snack food
he tells you to "Have a nice day"
even though it seems like
he's the one who could use one
but all you can say is a mild "Thanks"
then move on
Jan 2, 2019
Jan 2, 2019 at 1:51 PM UTC
Work to me feels like a production
Our slate wipes clean each day
We set the stage, we preform our lines
We check our numbers to make sure we are living up to the company standard
We reset the stage and acts to be ready for the next performance, tomorrow
We are numbers on someone’s report in someones office that I don’t know
They look at that number and decide they know us
They can see the sweat blood and tears
They can see the cups of coffee and bag of chips for lunch
They can see the tired frustration creeping in like the chill in the air
The countless hours spent digging deeper to get the show on the road.
Dec 15, 2018
Dec 15, 2018 at 6:25 AM UTC
So, here I am back in retail
after thirty years of I.T.
They sat me down at a puter
training, they called CBT's
The whole day staring at pixels
answering silly questions and queries
I thought I retired from this venue
so now I've come up with this theory
No matter what we do
no matter how hard we shirk the chains
everything runs in circles
what goes around comes round
again
Jul 16, 2018
Jul 16, 2018 at 6:50 PM UTC
Lingerie rustles
As hangers squeak and strain,
Sliding across the sturdy bars
That hold retail up,
Cradling profits,
Like a fistful of bills,
Illspent.
I yawn;
Exhausted by such a drearily normal moment;
A weary reminder
Of the long hours ahead of me,
And the demands of my
Ever-watchful overlords.
Still,
my mind wanders,
Thinking that perhaps sleep will come easily tonight,
Despite the wakeful rest I've found here
leaning on this
cool,
white
counter.
Perhaps it will be time to leave soon,
And reach
for the sunny skies I can see
taunting me from beyond the glass;
To leave behind this dusty,
dreaming
perspective,
And leap into adventures,
as of yet,
unknown.
I sigh,
Returned
to be merely an observer to my working hell,
An unwilling participant
To the necessary waste
of a perfect Spring day.
Apr 7, 2018
Apr 7, 2018 at 12:11 PM UTC
Faces that pass along in the stuffy summer night
See right through me
Though I fight to be seen, to be noticed
Acknowledged as a living breathing entity
I walk along, waiting to be picked up for a second
Inspected for usefulness
And put down again
Expiring my helpfulness again and again
And then I see the shining ray of glory
She steps through the crowd of gray
And addresses me by name
And I lead her down winding paths of Gold and Silver
And she kisses me with her eyes
She makes love to me with her words
I feel her in every depth within me
And then she's gone
Leaving a vacancy in my soul.
Sep 25, 2017
Sep 25, 2017 at 9:18 PM UTC
You look above
You see yourself that way
I am a pawn and you are Walt Disney
You see yourself above
You are that way
The kind of idealist
Who marches with ego
Who stutters with pride
I stand above you
But you hit me
I can't stand it
But my tongue is held
I'll strangle you
In the sink
In a neck choke
I'll bash your pudgy brain
Smash your ******* face
Smash your ******* mouth
With my fiery embrace
Sounds good ********
I'll make you a better person <3
Dec 21, 2016
Dec 21, 2016 at 9:16 PM UTC
Stuck in skirmish of working this
retail
I'm intricately plotting my escape with detail
Now see well
it's time for an alternative path
One that I believe, achieve then kick ***
This ***** whack
working hourly wages
I'm Turning time into sand,
with people who won't make it
Reality is a series of obstacles
Let's face it
My sanity is slipping like
Like **** on black latex
How can I ******* break this
I've become a statistic
a realistic typical stereotype
I fantasize on the daily
wishing I can take Ariel flight
How can I steer clear of these mundane communications
slab-faced coworkers &
there basic conversations
I'm tired of it, I'm tired of it
I'm done with it...
No more giving a ****
Now it's time to resist
These urges of being someone
Who settles & simply quits
I seek to strive for more
My motivation is too legit
My skills are beyond eons
I will conquer with fist
No more being a peon
Dance then do a flip
Celebrate like I'm Deion
For this year will test
my patience & true potential
to many years guiding this pencil
Into oblivion
Blank spaces and synonyms
Wordplay over wordplay
Metaphors for my residents
Letters create earthquakes
Echoes create resonance
I from art in sentences
This residue is my evidence
Nov 21, 2016
Nov 21, 2016 at 11:46 PM UTC
Is it acting
or adapting?
smiling for the show
of customers:
bright, dapper,
cheery and proud -
pushing product
with a knowing smile,
words animated,
confident and collected.
once they leave i sit and
ponder, I see the stars
in their films and admire
from afar, lamenting that I
cannot act - but can I?
Mar 4, 2016
Mar 4, 2016 at 1:38 PM UTC
the ceiling i now wear my eyes up
plastic black garbage bags and the rainbows fuse
wood-stock, bare beams and studs fixed with lines from dried
desiccate nails poked through
on
Milwaukee Avenue the miscarriages of newer child abuse shows through
characters worth keeping close are quieter than I'd choose, the mean grifters are so loud it's trying too hard to be obtuse. Anyone can be an ***
but my assholedom is strained from confusion and too much use. Underneath the mountains inside a record box, I only want to live where you're a fixture and a friend. My fingertips are bent, I can sew, I can write, I can breathe inside your mouth if you'll allow me too.
Jan 31, 2016
Jan 31, 2016 at 9:45 PM UTC
i ain't going back
drag me there
threaten me there
try to keep me there
**** no
pay me to create,
to write,
to explore
the shop strips me of a soul
i never had anyway
Dec 4, 2015
Dec 4, 2015 at 5:55 PM UTC
A been to many places
Some have been great
And other have been nothing more then a faded dream
it Starts with how can i help you and with an idea of a understanding of what i want
The thoughts of saving money and finding what i am looking for
So fast not to care and loss focus of the inside
But in todays world its lost the warm feeling of service that one can give.
I am just one of many who has faith in the heart of it all
I can't image how one loss faith on what really matter which is customer service.
Aug 17, 2015
Aug 17, 2015 at 2:02 PM UTC
Entering a world composed of surreal images
My mind must twist itself into difficult yoga poses
Attempting comprehension of the madness
Black aprons meander in rhythmic gyrations
Under harsh soul stealing luminescence
Lubricated with coffee to perform
Menial machinations miserably
I am but a tourist
On their macabre island full
With nightmarish denizens
Of this local purgatory
The poet dreamt of no circle
As dreadfully inhabited as this sinister strata
Easily a septante of sins sordidly succumbed to by soulless citizens
Apathetic arrogance masquerading as hospitality
While decency and morality are assaulted
According to the overlords abusive schedule
I am struck mute with paralytic paranoia
As I hurriedly set my offering upon the altar
And search for exact change
Mar 11, 2015
Mar 11, 2015 at 9:45 PM UTC
Online deals are the best distraction
for the leaky feeling in my chest.
Every click wipes a drip.
A shopping cart comprised of sale items,
the pair of oddly patterned socks,
suspenders no one will ever wear,
men's sweater in an extra-small,
an obscure band shirt-
all unwanted sitting in a 20 dollar cart.
I want them.
5 more dollars and it's free shipping.
Throw in unpopular shades of makeup
and a friendship bracelet.
Looking forward to the delivery man.
So involved in the next best sale-
the pain of neglect is removed with mail.
**i am in the clearance section-
waiting to be reconsidered
my emotions are overstock-
please pick one up half-off.**
Sometimes I never complete my purchase.
Imaginary carts of imaginary feelings.
Dump them away and forget their existence.
Someone else might see their worth
and make me wish I bought them first.
Rainy day
a broken package.
my leaky heart
drenched in mud
**wash me don't
leave me
don't forget me in the
mailbox by the door.**
Only 5 bucks.
**don't return me
to the store.**
It was free shipping.
**i promise i can be
more**
Fine, I'll take it.
Months of dust.
**i am sitting in the drawer,
wondering why you even bought me.
just because i was on sale-
now you never look my way.**
Off to goodwill.
Consumer's guilty pill.
Oct 16, 2014
Oct 16, 2014 at 11:20 PM UTC
Machine ground days
Somehow survived by clinging to precarious plans
Die for those.
For proles are stuck in a televised gleam
but I’m barred from distractions
I’m a man of action
Spring healing:
I found a new hope to get through the day
It has a name and it’s you
Workday: animistic curses
against people and their systems and products
except animals would escape forever
as soon as they open the cage
but we stay
The beastly gnashings of overworked merchandisers
for invisible self pocket stuffers
The competition's getting to us, comrades
I feel swindled out of my labor
I was pregnant
but they sold my child before
I woke up
Addressing the solipsism of my rehab circle:
I’m Kagey, and my life is hazy
but, blunted or no, let’s get this clear:
don’t trust your senses
and that goes for all my human peers
Body is a cage full of defenses
Still, I’m suspicious of reality
whether it’s façade society
or the wooden chair in front of me
Still, I enjoy the virtual scenery
I ain’t talking about on the T.V. or phone screen
I mean the willows, buildings, and faces
But all these mushy green acres are fakers
blobs without our eyesight
Still tho,
me and the universe are tight.
Sep 2, 2014
Sep 2, 2014 at 8:00 AM UTC
A lady asked me today if I could give her a discount
On the **** she was buying
Because she had already spent so much at my establishment.
And I just nodded my head and ******* agreed
Even though inside I was screaming.
Because, ***** I didn't ask to save all those lives I did,
I didn't originally
Feel the need to talk the world out of suicide.
But I subscribed for the long run
And ******* myself over
Because I've got men grovelling at my feet
But they're all doped up on Xanax.
So take your ******* discount and
Shove it up your ***
Because you earned it.
But somehow I still haven't
Earned my day of peace.
Imagine if he was better at timing
And jumping?
Jul 17, 2014
Jul 17, 2014 at 5:28 AM UTC
I'm trying not to shop till I drop,
Help
Me !!!!!!!
Jun 29, 2014
Jun 29, 2014 at 7:39 PM UTC
It’s all laundry and cigarettes
White-knuckle odd jobs
And freezing your *** off, at 7 AM, to
Help your buddy out
Breaking and bleeding, and
Smoking and shirtless, and
Spinning your finger and thumb
Counter-clockwise until the
Resulting ring of fire and fury can
Torch your inhibitions
No one ever restricted you from
Rioting with grace
And through the windshield of your vision,
The streets wake up to the smell of
Alcohol and experience
It’s all rubble in dumpsters, and
Spray paint that swears
Oaths, to bands and bandages
Singing the praises of
Stolen promises, their swiftly
Prying minds can’t understand
And you’re standing
In front of the truck
Arms outstretched
Pistons firing air through your
Organs, that vibrate with the
Trepidation of nightmarish resolve
It’s all battlefields and accomplices,
The kid that kicked you down so,
That you’d eat the dirt,
Place your teeth in
Leather pouches,
And taste defeat for decades
You’re pleasantly high on the
Smoke of your still-burning debt
You’re a supermarket superhero
You’re the queen of the Gasoline Dream
It’s in the way that
Your outline is
Edged out
By your insides, and the
Arms of the chair have become
Wings, that unfurl over
Valleys and oceans, of headstones,
And nursery wards
Tinted windows promise nothing
Regarding secrecy of soul
What would your wisdom teach me
About sentience?
Apr 24, 2014
Apr 24, 2014 at 11:36 AM UTC