Redlight

Redlight flickers in the dark
Throwing her electric shapes on the screen
A world of tiny coloured spots
A world lacking that final dimension
And he watches, over tables and drawers that aren't his
He watches her flicker, illuminate, glance down at him from mounted on the wall
He watches because he trusts it
He trusts the walls without pictures and the surfaces without photographs
He trusts the sound of a zip over that of a door
He trusts the lock and key not being his
And the faceless cards that would let anybody in if they chose
Because he chose
He chose

She speaks only in silence
Without words, her mere presence is a sound
A dull hum that is there but not
She is only redlight
While he is emptiness
A card with a printed name
An unsigned dotted line
An empty mini bar
A forgotten badge crumpled on a forgotten lapel
But he has redlight every night
Redlight, wallpaper and minty breath
Because in the morning she is always gone
And then he has to abc 1 his way to the car with a smile
And he will find foreign roads
And speak to static with a finger in his ear
He will find painted smiles that don't sign
And cheap wit cards to be crumpled in his wallet
He will drink spirits from paper cups
He will drink and laugh at the third dimension of the bar
And let the bar staff read his name to feel at home
He will find all of this and nothing else
He will find it and he will trust it
He will find it and he will trust it
He will find it and he will trust it
Because there is redlight in every turnoff on his road.