Poetry by Allison Baldwin
All it takes is the laughter of children,
the screech of shopping carts
to remind me of love.
In the aisle on my left,
red shirts in straight lines
waiting to be purchased
one by one.
Several feet away,
my best friend, walking, in an opposite direction
toward Starbursts, Sweet-Tarts, Goobers.
I know her: a sugar queen,
even as she asks me not to let her be.
I know me: last minute shopper, buying gifts for family
even when the task is far from easy.
In a basket:
Two small notebooks
A Yoshi hat my brother will never wear
A pair of Mario socks he will.
Some dog toys.
Love is not always easy, either.
But it holds its weight.
At the register, my friend gives into temptation,
buys the candy anyway
yet I follow through, tell her not to.
(The secret: I’ve already bought her
the sweets she seeks)
When she wonders why,
I say, “I am just doing my job.”
We laugh,
and the clerk joins in.
Allison Baldwin is a poet who combines authenticity with sass. Her work has been published in print and online, with an essay forthcoming in Folkway Press’s Right to Life anthology. She holds an MFA in Poetry and Poetic Medicine from Dominican University of California.
