FROZEN AS A TV DINNER

FROZEN AS A TV DINNER

Never thought I’d fight back tears in the middle of the produce section,
As I gathered fruits and vegetables to begin a grocery shopping session.
Never thought I’d freeze like a statue, while pondering the frozen dinners,
The Stauffers and the Healthy Choices, those gastronomic winners.

Never thought to push a cart would be such a Herculean task,
Never thought to shop for food would border on the Sisyphean.
Believing in my driving skills was always such a given.

Never knew a bonus card could stick like cement to my billfold,
That cash could cling so tightly to the lining of my pants.
Or that a bag of frozen peas could chart the course of my disease
And leave me limping in the aisle, the king of all catastrophes.
Blocking access to the artichokes, a hindrance and a slow poke.

That merely just to break a sweat would soon require more Sinemet
Or that a box of Wheat Chex could make me lunge for Mirapex.
Never knew to reach my car would be so sweet a destination,
Traversed at first with shuffling steps and later festination.

And when my trials at last were through and I was feeling down and blue,
I never knew such mercy sweet to melt away my worry.
The cashier smiled forgivingly, said life’s too short to hurry.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 2008
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED