DEPARTMENT STORE BLUES
I run the long gauntlet of perfume counter aisles
Reaching men’s wear I dare
my first breath
since leaving the street
Take my time picking up
and fondly fondling
warm winter socks
Should I buy two pair or three
two browns and a black
or two blacks and a brown
In no hurry to begin the return journey
so recently reminded of why
I had been driven here
in the first place
The odor of the old pair