"Food Lion"

Sometimes I do a day’s worth of thinking in one second 

Like when our eyes meet and too many  

Words like painted flies hang in the air and I don’t  

dare reach out and grab one for fear of shattering something because I’m frozen  

but I don’t want to move 

and this is probably the most exciting part of my day 

so it’s okay 

I don’t say anything 

I just smile a little but 

not too much 

and think about my hair and my shirt and the bag of  

Cuties my talon fingers grasp 

because they’re in season and they’re big and they’re ripe and they’re heavier than I expected and I’d be managing fine 

if it weren’t for the case of Rolling Rock in my other hand and I think of all the real people buying real food and I’m  

standing here with shitty but not too shitty beer and a bag of mini oranges thinking “this will feed me for a week” 

but then there were the donuts that I passed 

dressed up and festive on that display table 

or the brands of frozen pizzas that all cost the same 

and I really wish I had just grabbed the cart 

because the weight isn’t the problem  

but my awkward grip and I can feel them slipping 

so I clench my pink and white knuckles even tighter  

because if I drop them in front of her then I’ll be mortified unless we can both share the awkward moment  

by laughing at my clumsiness which wouldn’t be  

so bad but then I’d have to go back and get more  

because these would be bruised and then  

nobody would want them and they would  

sit on the shelf until they turn brown. 

But you smile back  

and give that half-hearted nod 

which is really all I could have hoped for  

and we both keep walking without breaking stride or 

thinking twice.