When can I go into the supermarket
and buy what I need with my good looks?
Allen Ginsberg, “
so I need that too but what have I got except my two
legs, strong from running, and my skin, too dry,
I have blue eyes, but I’m not good at flirting,
and sure I have money, but I want to buy what I can
get, not what I can afford, and I remember a story
my husband told about his grocery store days
stalking the shop lifters, the guy who ran out
with the twelve pack of beer and how he wrestled him
across four lanes of traffic, his down jacket
bursting like a shot duck and I never had to
do that but I had to touch the bleeding meat
so I feel I’ve paid my dues and I cut and marked freight
which is what they call groceries before they throw
them on the shelf and now that I’m here in the aisles
lit up like Christmas Eve, I want it all, the Baked Lays
and the Doritos, the corn chips and the neon yellow
Gatorade that reminds me of soccer practice and my
bleeding leg from some high kick and sure I need
tampons and lip gloss, who doesn’t? But I want
chocolate and what kind can my good looks buy
me tonight? just another Monday with no plans
I could be convinced to smile at the checker
gets me only a smile in return the problem
with capitalism is capital with a capital C
which is everyone’s problem these days
saving 40 cents on bananas is like winning a fucking
Nobel and I say again, I’ve got these legs and some
blue eyes and no breasts to speak of I could fit a bag
of chips beneath my shirt and run for it
but what happens when I come back tomorrow
because I need another lemon or maybe
what I really need is a twelve pack of beer
(This is actually yesterday's poem, because I am so behind I am just writing...I heard "America" on KRCL this afternoon so that's why this.)
5 comments:
This is amazing. I love the shot like a duck metaphor. Freaking gorgeous.
AWESOME! I'm envious of lots here, and funny you should mention "America" and KRCL: I read this poem and thought of Jane's Addiction, and did you know I used to be a DJ there? (The connection between your thoughts and mine seemed more apparent in my head than they look on the screen...)
Lynn, I lurk regularly on your blog and really, truly enjoy your poems. They're just...very...true. Hope you can come see us sometime now that we're back in the 'ham.
-Stacia
I love
and sure I need
tampons and lip gloss, who doesn’t? But I want
chocolate and what kind can my good looks buy
me tonight?
So wonderful, this poem.
Very nice--I'm with lisa that's a near perfect line. Tampons and lip gloss just the right words/items to continue the stream of consciousness feel yet different enough to disrupt and delight.
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