Beneath the Freezer Signs

The bell above the door rings twice

You ask if I need a bag

I count the coins beside the rice

And hide the photograph

Your name is written on the receipt

From coffee, gum, and rain

I used to meet you on this street

Now every aisle feels strange

The clerk is wiping down the glass

The bus is thin outside

I watch the red numbers change

And let another hour slide

I'm alone beneath the freezer signs

With your last message in my coat

A little blue light, a paper cup

And all the words we never spoke

You said forever like a promise

Then left it by the payphone tone

I come here when the night gets quiet

Just to feel less alone

The sandwich shelf is almost bare

The radio skips a song

I see your jacket everywhere

Then realize I'm wrong

We were 17 and fearless

With a borrowed bicycle

You kissed me near the loading dock

Like nothing could be breakable

The clerk is locking up the door, the street begins to shine

I fold the receipt into a star and keep it in my mind

I'm alone beneath the freezer signs

With your last message in my coat

A little blue light, a paper cup

And all the words we never spoke

You said forever like a promise

Then left it by the payphone tone

I come here when the night gets quiet

Just to feel less alone

If you walked in, I'd know your face before the doorbell rang

I'd ask you how your mother is and say, I'm doing fine

But the morning finds an empty floor, a receipt beneath

The only thing I take back home is the version of me with you

I'm alone beneath the freezer signs

But your last message lost its hold

The little blue light fades away

The coffee's getting cold

You said forever

Like a promise, I believed it on my own

I still come here when the night gets quiet

But I'm learning how to go home

The bell above the door rings once

The parking lot turns pale

I leave the photograph behind

And hear the morning rail