Licorice

Eve
senior citizen with a blue Walmart vest
hibiscus Hawaiian shirt and hello
no lei to place around your neck but
a yellow felt marker
to place around printed products
line out liars

with a perfect Fixadent smile she quips,
"Wouldn't that sort of be a metaphysical infidelity?"

as she checks off the purchases on the receipt
versus the contents of the grocery cart
pushed by a taoist
in a pink t-shirt with an ironed on
plastic decal of brown socks on the front
proclaiming in black on the back
"Sometimes life's just socks."

a one pound bag of black licorice
drew him through the doors
everything may be in tao
not enough cash in his account
to satisfy his addiction
on pricey organic co-op candy

his eco-cash consciousness
shelled out in greenbacks on
native henna dyed
fair market value
hemp fiber shirt and
recycled blue jeans

an after Birkenstocks hike habit
acquired from chewing
after viewing
the deer and the antelope play
in their Rocky Mountain National Park

too much sweet glycrrhizic acid
and other phytochemicals
plan potassium takeovers
of his blood and bowels
trouble with feces
(let's just say they're black)

night time cramps come
sleep suffers
should have selected the 99 cent Gatorade
from the shelf the next aisle over
with no artificial coloring to
further agitate his
licorice and anise spiced mind

with ticks of bewilderment
yin and yang polka dance dreams
of Jesus and Buddha playing poker
soul chips piled high
on the green velvet table top
tipped over when Krishna loses his cool
he's never been a people person
been hanging with Shiva too long
nor a team player
don't let those airport tambourine troubadours
in their saffron robes and shaved heads
fool you

day light comes
he's overhung
regrets from licorice buying
still
no fights or other herbal delights
consume the taoist in his functions

tofu masquerades as dead animal protein
for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
vegetables can't scream
when you slice them open

daily dilemmas documented
in brown walnut ink
in a Himalayan handcrafted journal of
traditional daphne fibers
and no less than
10% post consumer content

sitting at the bus stop
he hums an old favorite from
protests past

If PETA Piper picked a peck of peppers
how many pickles did PETA Piper pay
to stay on the shelf at Walmart?

Oh black demon of
molten molasses
with wicked wheat
fuming fusaria toxins
coated in genetically modified
corn syrup carmel coloring
lascivious licorice
salt and anise

you are the jumbo black twisting serpent
in my eco garden of eden
Why do I still listen to you?


©polarpaul 2006