Vinyl booth holds a trembling packet
Bus ticket folded inside her fist
Chrome stool spins but she won't unpack it
Highway hums like a wrist to wrist
Copper spins above the griddle
Catches light from the pie case glass
Girl with camera stops the middle
Frames the moment before it passes
Copper spins and the night holds still
Copper spins and it always will
Grease scent rises through exhaust clouds
Salt air kisses the peeling paint
She documents the lost and proud
One frame frozen before the saint
Copper spins above the griddle
Catches light from the pie case glass
Girl with camera stops the middle
Frames the moment before it passes
Copper spins and the night holds still
Copper spins and it always will
Fluorescent flicker maps her faces
Steam curls up from a chipped white mug
Tires hiss on the interstate bases
Engine coughs like a dying bug
Arrow points where the wind decides
Not where the bus line runs or hides
She lifts the lens to catch the turn
Metal burns but does not burn
Dawn bleeds pink through the wire mesh screen
Copper catches the first pale ray
Booth sits empty, no in-between
Ticket used and the debt is paid
Copper spins above the griddle
Catches light from the pie case glass
Girl with camera stops the middle
Frames the moment before it passes
Copper spins and the night holds still
Copper spins and it always will
Patina records each passing season
Diner stands while the routes all change
I remain for the best reason
Fixed in place but watching range
Copper spins above the griddle
Catches light from the pie case glass
Girl with camera stops the middle
Frames the moment before it passes
Copper spins and the night holds still
Copper spins and it always will
Copper spins and it always will
Verdigris catches morning
Shutter clicks without warning