Elaine At The Mini-Mart Poem by David McLansky

Was that you at the supermarket;
Eating Pringles from your pocket,
Drinking Pepsi while on line,
Beneath the Fastfood Checkout sign?
With cookie crumbs all down your jacket
(When you chew you make a racket) ,
Licking out the Oreos cream
With a tongue that’s quite obscene;
I tried to catch your roving eye
As you lifted up your box of Tide
And put it on the conveyor belt,
Oh the passion that I felt;
The pretzel sticks strung in your hair
Made some shoppers stop and stare,
But I still thought you looked divine
Chewing on your cantaloupe rind;
You shopping cart held more than eight
Items at the checkout gate,
That was why you ate and ate
I missed you by a twist of fate;
I saw you in the Parking Lot
Juggling limes and apricots,
I waved but I guess you saw me not
In my distant parking slot;
In driving you are quite deft,
You turned right and I turned left,
You drove against the rush hour traffic,
I guess still your feeling a bit distracted.