Couple seconds in the car:
Pop the mint.
Hide the cigarettes.
Button the shirt.
Straighten the cap.

Smile, lips closed.
Respectable.

Scan the drones,
pinpoint their tasks.

Wander lightly
from literary island to island.
Kill time, suspiscion by:
looking for where I'd fall among the legends,
fingering the prose,
faking an interest in self-help.

Brave the New Age crowd today to
liberate
my target.

-Oh yeah, she's so insightful.
-I mostly like his early stuff.
-Have you read any Kerouac? I thought you might have.
All neatly stacked in my back pocket
in case of emergency.

Grab a couple;
take the one.
Dance until an empty aisle;
slip it into the bag.
Dot the rows with the few remaining rejects.
Feel the natural drugs pump
as I casually walk through the door.

10/21/2002

Author's Note: Anything under 20 at B&N doesn't have an electronic beeper. 'nuf said.

Posted on 03/28/2003
Copyright © 2025 A.M. Demarco