all together, now
galloping through aisle 5
didn’t expect there to be an end to aisle 5
cause when you’re galloping can’t you just keep going?
but there she stood at the canola oils
a wrinkly white lady
mouth O-pen in surprise at first
melting into a forgiving smile second
like oh you kid
like you funny little kid with your imagination
the kid never neighed again
(it’d be too weird you know?)
just collected coupon stubs from those dispensers
the closest things to getting what you want when you can’t have Rice Krispies,
only Cheerios
that’s okay though, mom says chemicals are poison so once
she spit out the popcorn dad bought
out of spite towards mom
and mom and dad fought silently
anyways
wandering the aisles, holding a stranger’s hand by accident
while mom slapped watermelon specimens
looking for sandy echoes
aggressively
hopefully
there’s comfort in being in your own aisle
isle?
feels something not too different from sleeping on the couch behind her parents watching
Michael Jordan on the TV
their sitting bodies saying “SHOOT”
keeping her from rolling off the edge
compartmentalizing, staying connected
listening to the digestion in 爸爸’s tummy
“shoot,” can’t tell if that’s a curse or a command
just like she once mixed up “shy” and “晒”
in one of those rare moments she spoke to the 60-year-old merciful teacher without being asked
when she couldn’t squint her eyes open to that East Bay sun
“i’m 晒“
“you are?”
another confused white lady with wrinkles
On the swings of that Christian preschool
if you swing hard enough
if you fly high enough
can you fall straight down and die?
no one in her family was Christian but this School they made sure of this
Jesus Loves You This I Know
For the Bible Tells Me So
know this
“以备,齐!“ when you’re ready
repeat after me, all together now, white religion
go now, you are forgiven
they’ll forgive you now
forgive you for blurring Mandarin with the ABCs
for being a horse in aisle 5 at Albertson’s