ACCOUNT OF MY DAYS
Sequence: 7
SHOPPING
It is important to tie your shoelaces--both shoelaces--before
going into the pawn shop. And to carry only old bills, used till
they have a softness like cloth. Take a friend. Just inside
the door there are micrometers for measuring what you find. In
a corner, there is talk cool as a silver flute to be had for
next to nothing. Over there, a set of memories of red hair,
slightly out of chronological order. A shelf containing the
possibilities of loss: numbness, sorrow, fury, relief. Behind
the counter, more talk--is flight too late, does the future have
more pasts than the past has futures? A box with a broken latch
is filled with a jumble of pages torn from calendars, each with at
least one name, some with an X drawn through the date. As you
leave, untie your shoelaces, check your pockets to make sure you
are taking nothing home that is not yours.