10 items or less
so one day
when you don’t expect it
you’re at Publix supermarket
looking for hand sanitizer
wooden stick matches
and
cocktail napkins
and you’re picking up
bloody mary mix
nine bottles of Fairbanks port
the Examiner
and
five rolls of paper towels
you find yourself
in the express check out line
in front of the rudest woman in the world
who says to you
that your items have exceeded
the ten limit maximum
and she expects you to take your
shit off of the conveyor
and
move to another line
and you say –“ too late”
and you try to defuse the situation by saying
your’re a cash customer and you wave
a one hundred dollar bill
in the air
but the manager comes over
and says you have to take
your shit off of the conveyor
and you don’t argue because
of your respect for authority
lady nods approvingly
watches you load up your cart
and move away
and you feel a little like
John Dillinger – lawbreaker
as you slink off
planning for next time.
Ed's end of the planet books 
so one day
when you don’t expect it
a poet appears
who is trying to die
and you just can’t see that happening
so you sit on a blanket in a park
and a year later
he hates you
worth it
Thank you for reading. I like verse like this.
CJ your games are getting very tiresome.
You backed down?!! Reminds me of the time I pulled into a check out lane at the grocery store and the lady THEN told me she was closing and THEN put up her ‘closed’ sign, and THEN turned off her light… I said, “I’m not moving!” She backed down. I figured for the money I spent at that store every week, I’d walk away from a full cart if I had to. TAWANDA!!!