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Elizabeth Hazen: Eve at the Stop N’ Shop

May 10, 2011 by PBQ

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

Filed Under: Contributors 83, Issue 83, Poetry, Poetry 83 Tagged With: Contributors 83, Elizabeth Hazen, Poetry, Poetry 83

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