Left at the registers
past Paint and Stains
to Aisle 6.
Fastener type
Material
Screw type
Size and length
Head style
Drive type
There it is—
the drawer,
the box,
the Stainless Steel
Bugle-Style
Philips Head
Coarse-Thread
#10 2-1/4”
Wood Screw.
Refer to the top inside of the lid,
then hand to pocket,
and a quick check
against the screw from home.
Count out 20,
and recount
(“measure twice”)
then cascade
twenty
#10 2-1/4”
bugle-style
Philips head
stainless steel
wood screws
into a paper bag,
and fold the top over.
Tear a cashier’s slip,
find the pen,
and print out
type,
size,
length,
cost,
and quantity.
Back
past Paint and Stains,
to the register,
to wait in line.
Bag and slip on the counter
for Donna
and her inspection.
Hand to bag
and a quick series of oscillations
from slip
to keyboard
to screen,
slip
to keyboard
to screen,
slip
to keyboard
to screen,
pecking out
type,
size,
length,
cost,
and quantity.
“Yes, that’s all…”
“Yes, can I enter a number…”
“No, I can manage…”
“Thanks, you too…”
A rite
a ritual
a rhythm.
As relished
as it is dreaded,
as averted
as it is inevitable.
No intrusion
of efficiency,
nothing streamlined
or express.
It’s a shuffling
steel-toed
waltz,
this Saturday
sacrament.
It’s as small-town
as Mellencamp,
and familiar
as a furrow.
It’s as manish
as Duchamp’s fountain.
and modern
as Port William.
It’s like
any man’s errand
in any small store
in any small town
in any and every state.
It’s like almost
everything ordinary
and unlike exactly
anything else in the world.
December 26, 2020
Flagstones 