Everyone looks a little sunshine-drunk
On a national holiday –
Even the checkout clerk (somehow
Managed to bronze that fluorescent
gray).
The scuttle is mellower;
The bananas smell yellower;
The girl with the basket
Sees a smile as I pass it –
Because there's nothing to do but share
a grin
On a minor holiday, in the light warm
wind,
By the lettuce heads and brie.
In neon and cream shoes, her girlfriend and she
Look fresh from a sprint. They sync
like a scale –
Their red baskets swaying front-back.
And the trail
They trace starts to look (or did I
change it?) like mine,
But they stop for bread, so I'm first
to the line.
Still, it always takes me 10 minutes
more
When there's a run-glowing girl in my
grocery store.
there is something so beautiful about the notion of a small holiday making the people of the world smile. sorry that i felt i had to start out this comment that way, but the simplicity of happiness on a day much like every other, is what caught my eye to reread this poem over and over again, reaching out to feel the warmth of the sun's rays felt by the characters. the simple happiness mixed with a twinge of love all felt in a grocery store of all places makes this poem not only unique, hopeful, and just-plain-lovely, but also unforgettable. what you captured in this poem, that specific moment in time, is sign of hope of the good in this world. keep letting the words of poetry flow out through your pen because you sir, have talent!
ReplyDelete-Emma S.
p.s. is the "run-glowing girl" a real person????
Yeah - she was real. Most of these are based on real events (I'd say this blog is about 75% autobiographical). Regardless, I tend to avoid talking about "characters" in poems. Makes it feel like an impersonal analysis as opposed to an experience: "the girl" "she" makes her what I hope she is when you read it - perceivable.
DeleteWhen first reading this poem, the imagery really standing out to me. When you are describing Memorial Day as a holiday, you talk about the “light warm wind” (10) and how it is just a minor holiday. I see this phrase setting the tone as carefree. It really makes me feel like a summer day and I am just running around while it is warm and I have nothing to worry about. However, it is a holiday so not that many people are working, but instead relaxing. The other key phrase that stands out to me is “Everyone looks a little sunshine-drunk” (1). This piece of imagery seems to show how it is a relaxing day. Everyone in the town is living life in the present and enjoying every moment of this minor holiday. To make this minor carefree holiday even better, the speaker runs into a “run-glowing girl in the grocery store” (18). This girl seems to make this speaker’s day. This day turned out to be one of the best days of the speaker’s life.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope that seeing a pretty girl in a grocery store would not make that day " one of the best days of the speaker’s life" -- that's a pretty low bar for a lifetime-topping best day.
DeleteBut, happy-in-the-moment ... I'd agree with you that.