“Smoked turkey breast
And granola.”
My daughter
Makes me repeat
Makes me repeat
Twice
Her shopping list of two items.

She tops off the instructions with
“Don’t forget!”
“I won’t forget…” I say,
“But what was the second thing
You wanted?”

Our jokey routines, rituals of devotion.

I’m off to the Green Market.

For my grandsons:
Sugar super-donuts only at Moll’s stand.
I pick the heaviest, the greasiest ones.
Two are for me to eat on the way home:
Instant stomach ache.

And for me, what?
Do I need anything?
I’ll just wander.

At Lee’s Farm Stand
I eavesdrop on the plot
The eggs are hatching.
Something about getting
H5N1
From an Indonesian relative
And using it to take over the country.
Fowl terrorists – depressing!
I remind Lee to vote for Obama
And move on.

Against my better judgment
At Dell Organic Orchards
I buy a half gallon of apple cider
Ridiculously expensive.
Coins of loneliness
Exchange hands.

Lynnhaven Goat Milk Cheese.
I ask for a taste of the dilled cheese.
Instead of just handing me the sample
The goat woman instructs me to
“Open wide”.

I obey orders.

She carefully deposits
In my mouth
The creamy cheese
Which I’m tasting not only with my tongue
But also with my eyes.

Unspeakably beautiful
Suddenly
This goat girl
Stinky with cheese.

What comes over me
Is a powerful desire
To taste all her cheeses
Each and every goddamn variety
Every last one.

Smiling, she slowly inserts each sample
Into my mouth.

The garlic:
“Now isn’t that just scrumptious?!”
Peppered:
“Did you ever taste anything like that!?”
Provencal:
“Doesn’t that just melt in your mouth?!”
Exotic herbs:
“Greedy man, can’t help yourself, can you?!”

Our eyes meet and hold.

I get the cheese, the granola, the turkey breast.
A toothpick of spicy turkey sausage
Hot off the grill.

Everyone has extra hands.
Everybody wants to sample
One another.
My alpha peacock tail unfurls.

Oh sweet sunlit Brooklyn morning,
Oh scary undeserved abundance,
Overpower and stay
With me
For the lifetime
Of my days!