In the supermarket – Kristiana Reed

Those who wait

watch the vole

with heavy shopping

stumbling hands.

I can’t fight my mind.

I can’t find my card

to pay for the colours

and textures stuffed in a bag.

The hawks behind

step forward

heavy claws which pierce

the supermarket polished ground.

I came alone,

to shop alone,

to pack alone and leave

alone.

My hands are now full

with all of these eyes

and false words

falling from my tongue.

I’m finally done.

I finally leave

for the bag to split.

 

For me to suffocate,

fold up like water

as eyes, hands

and lies come

to my aid

because I’m crying

over spilt milk

and choking

on a thank you.

 

I found old CBT diagrams I drew to cope with anxiety attacks.

I decided to turn them into poetry instead of painful memories. 

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Kristiana Reed juggles writing and teaching English; in both vocations she endeavours to remind people of their self worth and how dazzlingly beautiful the world can be.

You can read more of Kristiana’s writing at My Screaming Twenties