the corner store clerk in my hometown saw me everyday
birthdays, good days, bad days
rain, sun, clouds, snow
i moved away when i was 16, and he stayed, of course
years later, i come back to the area, and i find it to be the first thing i do, to get an arizona tea
the sparkling cherry lime one, the one only i bought, and i knew that because the number of cans would be the same from the last day
every day.
when i set it down, he didnt ring it up
he looked up
because who else would it be?
he looked at me like he was going to cry, like he wanted to hug me and ask me where id been
but hes just the clerk,
and im just his customer
it had been that way for more than a decade
so he didnt do any of that
he rang my drink up and put it in a bag,
i started to walk out, but before i left, he stopped me with a "hey"
"ladies must love you now, good luck" in broken english
"thanks" i replied, and then left
he couldve said anything, any words wouldve elicited the same reaction
because a passing remark is all i could expect
every day.