A grocery store kind of love
A kind of love you go to when everything else is closed
And you’re still a kid
Who just wants a snack
Or to go outside
Or to feel ok without anyone else
Wondering why you’re alone all the time
Because this is a grocery store kind of love
When everything is going wrong and you still need to go food shopping
And you have no money
But you have you
And that’s enough
That’s the grocery store
Kind of love
Something to rest your head on
When everyone wants you to go away
But they have no excuse so you say you need to buy some juice or some gum
And you don’t buy either
You just wander the aisles
And read the magazine covers
And wonder if those people even go to the grocery store
And you feel kind of bad for them
Because they don’t get to experience
The crying babies
The stressed out parents
The idiot teenagers trying to flirt
The old people trying to get away with free sample after free sample
That is the grocery store kind of love
Where no one
Even notices your hair is a mess
Or that you hate your dress
It’s just because they pass out free samples of fruit
To the homeless
And I’ve seen people OD
In the seating area
Next to the bakery
And I wonder where their grocery store love
Went
It probably left them high and dry
For the corporate big guy
And yet I love my stupid grocery store
There is always someone annoyed at the cashier
And there is always someone complaining about the weather
And sometimes I wonder if I didn’t have my grocery store
What would have happened to me
When I was 17 and incredibly lonely
So that’s what I’m looking for
Is that grocery store kind of love
Where you don’t have to worry
If they remember your favorite movie
It’s only $5 on DVD
And you can rewatch your favorite parts
And they can hold your hand when it gets too sad
Or too scary
That’s my grocery store kind of love
Where I don’t have to worry
If I can get dairy free
Because milk actually makes me sick
And I can’t forget my favorite jerky stick
I never worried about getting fired at the grocery store
Because I showed up
I tried my best
And that’s true love
When you have nothing to give
But the wreck your parents made
The night before
And you still pretend you have something to live for
If it wasn’t for my stupid grocery store
I would be just like my grandmother
Scared to open any door
Without knowing what was behind
I now know
You never know
You just open the door
And leap
And one day it won’t hurt so much
Because everyone makes mistakes here
Even the cute girl
With the dark hair
She can fuck up the whole day
And everyone pretends like it’s ok
Because it’s the grocery store
And we’re all fucked up in some way or another
And we all crave each other
And that’s what happens at the stupid grocery store
People fight each other
And they argue
And they punch the goddamn self checkout machine
Because the world is so fucking mean
But don’t worry!
You can take it out on the nearest employee
They can handle it
This is their job
To remind you that even when everything is going wrong
It’s the stupid grocery store
And you still need to buy your kid their new health food kick and
The college graduate wants desperately to go on a new diet
Free of ramen and anxiety
And
That’s the grocery store kind of love
Nothing stops it
Nothing
Not the fucking smoke coming from the goddamn ceiling
Not the fridges overheating
Not the registers always beeping and blaring
This is the fricken grocery store!
When we want our love we want it now!
When we want to throw in the towel
We take a walk next to the cheese block
And we pretend we’re not mad
Otherwise everyone else will stare at us
But we’re family
And we love each other
So we showed up to the goddamn grocery store at the very least
I’ve fallen in love, broken an ankle, got burnt on my ass cheek and somehow managed to become the manic pixie dream girl
At my local supermarket
Now I don’t know how any of that happened
Because I HATED grocery shopping
But you know who loved it?
My mom.
You know who used it as an escape?
My mom.
The grocery store was her home
Pretending like she forgot something
And then wouldn’t stop grocery shopping
Even when I started crying
But that’s the grocery store for ya
It’s always open
And even when it’s not
There is a gas station right next to it
Where you can buy your stupid lottery ticket
And forget that you are just another idiot
And that’s the grocery store kind of love
That’s the place I remember my mom
Where we convinced each other that home wasn’t so tough
Where we convinced each other we were enough
But the storms would come and we would just sit in the stupid parking lot
And cry
Maybe for a little bit
Maybe for forever
Because who wants to go home
When you have that grocery store kind of love.