Buzzing Bee

together forever

White plastic smile, 
big creepy grin
Coat check the conscience, 
darling, come on in

Band plays sweet while 
the ice clinks neat
And the ledger keeps time 
with a wink and a beat

May every day be a wonderful secret
Toast to the sins that the sunlight can’t see yet
Signed in video, your little deceit
Tips in the pocket, truth under the seat

There’s a man with a tan like a counterfeit sunset
Calls himself gold but he tarnishes quick
Sells you a dream with a hush money drum set
Taps on the table with a nondisclosure stick

There’s a skybird shuttle with a velvet itinerary
No customs no questions just smile for the flight
They call her the Lolita - little plane that flies
Names in italics to soften the lies

May every day be a wonderful secret
“Write it in lipstick on backroom glass
Hide all the stains under velvet and brass
Smile like a saint while the sinners get seated
Order another, the evidence deleted”

Mr Hospitality king of the guest list
Polite little contracts tied up like a necklace
Celebrating your birthdays with 3 little gals
Camera spying on your creepy old pals
Bellhop memory never says nothing
Room service winks under silver dome covers
Elevator music with a hidden bass thud
Lift the lid slow there’s a rose in the mud

May every day be a wonderful secret
Pray to the god of the plausible deny it
Swirl it like smoke in a courtroom breeze
Choir sings hush in diminished degrees

Here’s to the pilots who don’t ask a question
Here’s to the headlines that flirt with suggestion
Here’s to the judges who love a good yawn
Here’s to the lights that never come on

Clink clink baby truth’s on a bender
Tip tap honey justice can wait
If innocence’s golden
 guilt’s legal tender
They say they like 'em young, illegal, even better

Now the orange man preens like a neon canary
But ankles get heavy when closets get airy
Whistles a tune about winning the night
And canaries go quiet at the hint of daylight

May every day be a wonderful secret
Fold it in cash like a pocket square lie
Hang it in cedar so moths won’t eat it
Wear it to brunch with an alibi tie

You say what you want, and you do what you please
Sign with a scribble and seal it with sleaze
Secrets grow teeth in the blue hour’s dawning
And midnight knows that the truth is coming

May every day be a wonderful secret
Another perversion, another paid pilot
We're draining the swap - just wait and see
Unless that sludge just happens to be me!

Buzzing Bee

Gabi Hartmann