Overtures toward the woman
in line at the grocery store
are to commiserate about
the length of the line up,
or the weather
or a shallow bit of cliché
to pass the time and feel at ease
even though
the man behind grumbles
about the lack of staff
or about the infernal machines
at the self check out.
In all of this, a thought
drifts through my mind:
‘I’m glad we chatted and
that we’ll have food to take home
to feed our families.’
It’s my turn at the till.
I set my tomatoes, milk and eggs
on the conveyor belt,
pay for my groceries,
say my good byes to people
I’ll never see again and return home.
“Two things define you: your patience when you have nothing
and your attitude when you have everything,”
~ George Bernard Shaw
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