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.

5 thoughts on “10 items or less

  1. 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

  2. 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!!!

Leave a reply to W E Patterson Cancel reply