There is a science
to my selection: I take two
of everything: artichokes
plastic bags of yellow corn
green beans asparagus
Peaches fist in my hands
My cart sinks:
nine gallons of milk six dozen
eggs butter sharp cheddar
burlap sacks of rice
boxes of pasta jars of sauce
frozen peas crinkling
like static I fill
three carts with tv dinners
two carts with cat food
and raw meat marbled
white with fat
In my hand I carry
a pack of doublemint gum
It takes four hours to ring
me up and six trips
to take everything home
The cabinets bulge
Goods ooze
through cracks
Pots and pans ring
disbelief
I soothe them with carrots
I add and add
The kitchen floods
with my mistakes I have no one
to feed I am starving
for cauliflower broccoli florets
The room deep with dismay,
thick with flour and meat
and all the recipes
I have failed to complete
The dishes rise to the ceiling
and fall Soapy water
fills the room I have
forgotten what it was
I wanted