At A Stop & Shop In New Haven

With thanks to Allen Ginsberg’s A Supermarket in California”

Donning mask, gloves, and baseball cap

Like a thief I go out to shop

No surprise everyone’s dressed like that

It’s kinduv fun to see all the robbers by the Cheerios

And that gaggle of felons

Keeping distance by the watermelons

But now in comes a fellow with no gear at all

Healthy-looking, asymptomatic for sure, and tall

The store grows quiet, then with a start

The thieves scurry off with their wiped-down carts

This man’s stride is sure, his smile long and bright

He’s the one likely to take your life.

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