At the Supermarket

 

FROM THE ONLINE CHAPBOOK FLAMINGO PARK

At the Supermarket

Miriam Levine

I want my bags packed lightly.

Stacy’s not all there but finally gets it.

Inez the cashier gives me the receipt,

“Enjoy the rest of your day.” Rest

of my life, I think. I could take

a dirt nap going home, I could croak.

“You two have a good team with Stacy,”

I tell them, dumb me. Stacy turns red.

The light’s on but nobody’s home.

Her face is like a saint’s in a Giotto painting.

Have I embarrassed her? Would she understand

if I said, Sorry, I’m not wrapped too tight?

A mysterious woman with vibrant orange lipstick is slightly obscured by fronds. The title Flamingo Park appears, followed by the words Poems By Miriam Levine.

Flamingo Park
Miriam Levine
2026

Flamingo Park is Miriam Levine’s gift to you. The setting of this online chapbook is the Flamingo Park neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida. The themes, for the most part, are love, death, joy—laughter and tears—the longstanding themes of lyric poetry.