Trip to the Supermarket During a Pandemic, an L.A. Taco Poem

Had to make a run to the store

to pick up a few essential items for my wife and me

Handkerchief covering half my mug

Sanitizer in tow, I felt like a cleanly bandit

Wiped down the shopping cart, 

Entered through that automatic door, like a game of Operation

The gargantuan grocery complex seemed colder than usual,

emptied of product and people

Half-empty shelves in Meat & Poultry

Blighted isles in Toilet Paper & Paper Towel

Price gouging goblins, capitalizing on consumer dependency

Dozen eggs for six bucks

Three oranges for five

Corporate courtesy, staying open for us folks

Government kickback? Most likely

They care about us, sure they do

Like a butcher cares for a pig on the chopping block

They’re only viable if we squeal a little bit

I’m checking out now,

but I’ll be back, got no choice

Cashier packed my produce with gloves on

and paused to cough, head in shoulder

Better get home and scramble these eggs before I crack