they told me to enroll in college so i don’t end up stuck
flipping burgers or bagging groceries but
now i feel lied to cuz
i’ve never been happier at a job than this one.
every shift i see greens soaked in mist
fragile figs & ripe tomatoes, soup potatoes
baguettes & breathing bags of mussels
shiny pink ladies & avocados, rolling
cross the black rubber belt into brown paper bags.
i’m still learning the PLUs but so far my faves are:
four nine one one for 2 for $5 herbs
four nine six one for my favorite mangos
forty forty-eight for hard green limes
my glasses fog up above my mask but i smile to myself & think
of home when i see Thai peppers, galangal & fresh cut lemongrass.
even the customers are pleasant (mostly) with their staring babies,
recipe recs & reusable bags. one man always tips a crisp
two dollar bill. another insisted i sample a kumquat
from the handful he bought during citrus season.
and i’ll always remember the couple who came through lane three
with one of every apple we carry.
i’ll never forget the way they left grinning, giddy
with over thirty-two varieties.