Hate from the Supermarket

Hate from the Supermarket

Hit.

            Hit her hard on her soft behind.

                        (Hit that child again and I will—)

Drag.

            Drag her through the store aisles by her skinny arm.

                        (If I hear her cry "Mommy, no!" again—)

Stomp.

            Stomp your foot like you are younger than she is.

                        (If you tell her you hate her just one more time—)

Rush.

            Rush to your car, push her in, slam the door.

                        (If I'd confronted you it might have stopped you from backhanding her.)

                       

Leave.
            You leave the parking lot.

                        (My smartphone is heavy in my pocket, 9-1-1 so hard to dial.)

Michael A. Griffith

Michael A. Griffith’s chapbooks Bloodline (The Blue Nib Imprint) and Exposed (Soma Publishing and Hidden Constellation Press) were released in fall 2018. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for poetry in October 2018 for his poem “Bloodline,” which first appeared on Ariel Chart. He lives near Princeton, NJ and teaches at Raritan Valley Community College. He is Poetry Editor (US/Canada) for The Blue Nib. 

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https://michaelgriffithwordpress.wordpress.com