Town and Country Market, Bainbridge Island, 1991
I’d add ten bucks to the total to get two fives—
one for gas, the other for the occasional coffee
to last until the next paycheck. Receipts
with coupons on the back. Dollar off a block
of cheese every first Tuesday. Fifty cents off pasta.
Once, my cart full of Honey Nut Cheerios, diapers,
cheese sticks and juice boxes, my toddler screamed
in the cart while I held my crying baby pulling
at my blouse. After being rung up, I realized
I forgot my checkbook. The checker said,
oh come pay tomorrow, we got you.
Then in the car, all three of us crying, soon
the children asleep. I remember how I sat
behind the wheel in the driveway and cried
some more. Her kindness pierced me, drove me
into this island like a tent stake. Why I’m still here.
–
Michele Bombardier is the author of What We Do, a Washington Book Award finalist. Her work has appeared in JAMA, Parabola, Poetry International, and many others. She is a Hedgebrook fellow, the founder of Fishplate Poetry, and the inaugural poet laureate of her town.