"What's In a Name?"
I don't know her name
I saw her only once at the supermarket
She was on line ahead of me
There was a sudden frenetic conference
between clerk and manager
They looked at her askance as
the line lengthened
Curiosity overcame annoyance
My glance deepened and lingered
She had a few basic staples,
potatoes, cooking oil, beans, syrup
Her welfare check wasn't enough
She accepted the news with good grace
Nodded and moved the syrup to another place
I noticed her wedding band and
her crisply laundered McD's uniform
A young Hispanic mother with the face
of a Rafael Madonna
Returns to an uncertain future with quiet grace
I don't know her name
I wish I did
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Yes. These life stories touch us each day even though we wish we could look the other way. Did you think of offering to pay for the overage, or do you think that would have embarrassed her more?
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