Poetry by Bonnie Demerjian
The cashier scans the virtuous milk, sultry coffee, and tangle-haired carrots
not choosing, just grabbing and pushing on.
Spaghetti slides past and cha ching confirms it.
Crimson peppers are weighed and registered.
They wink as they’re shoved along and amass in a tumble
with a wedge of brie and the frozen peas all
ready for the bagger who, with easy banter to the clerk,
deftly sorts. First, dependable dairy, the anchors, then
jars of sauces, but not too much weight. Considerate he is.
Off to the side for later, tortillas and oversensitive avocados.
He finds a perfect slot for the tofu, eyeing that sweet spot
like a basketball star. No orphan soup left looking for a home
and all coronated with a crown of bananas.
Such easy confidence that all will come out right.
No wasted motion, he’s a gymnast who stuck his landing, then
with modest flourish, sets his masterpiece in the cart.
Bonnie Demerjian writes from her home in the Tongass National Forest, a place that continually nourishes her writing. Her poetry has appeared in Cirque Journal, Artemis, and others. Her chapbook, Flotsam and Jetsam, is newly published. She has also written four nonfiction books on Southeast Alaska’s human and natural history.
