Waking Up In a Supermarket

I go to the supermarket to buy some mangoes. I’ve had five coffees And spent hours on detangling computer wires. Reciting a poem I remember from fourth grade I opened another three college letters in the mail yesterday. The mailman’s teeth were yellow. We regret to inform you We regret to inform you We regret to inform you that There are no mangoes in store Says the employee, Eyes grey and sunken. I notice His neon blue shirt has thinly stuck to the skin. I wander and run my hand around metal cold the fridges are cold I open the door and let the icy sternness turn me numb. Maybe my face will fall off. Perhaps I can write about it in a supplemental essay. What is one difficulty you’ve had to overcome. Well you see one day they had no mangoes So I slept overnight on the kitchen tool isle. I carried a packet of Pop Tarts with me only to put it back as I left. In the morning I prayed for a mango tree in Hazy misty weather. I notice a puff of greasy air. There can grow no mangoes here For it is all ashen and tarnished and empty. Look, that street where I would once turn with my dog to go to the park. When I was five how lovely it had been. I remember green and summer and bees and boys. Now, my hands have written themselves away – inked blue. I pull my scarf behind my neck twirling it around myself once more. Note Need to Call Aunt Celine for Christmas. Taking a walk is good for the body. Aimless walking can be a primary sign of depression. Daily activity helps to relieve stress. Try not to let it take your spark away. That's what they always say. Lights pierce my eyes and I missed a friend’s party. Called in sick from the lights. We have other fruit available if you’d like. Kindly I turn down the meaty strawberries. Perhaps I could buy some gum Or whiteout. I think about how the city seems as stiff as I do. In the chilled morning, before I leave. How nice would it have all been If I simply had some mangoes. A soda and these rice cakes will do. Maybe I should grow my own – There in the sun cracks – thread between sky and portwater. There may grow my mango tree.