In Line at the Store

Several lines form, 
one circles 
round the roasted chickens, 
always seems faster, 
the line and the fowl. 
A young woman juggles 
a basket full: 
apples, milk, Cheerios, 
snacks, beer;  
her kid giggles jiggling 
the magazine rack:  
Harry and Charles, UFO's, 
AI, and Elvis alive 
up in a penthouse in Las Vegas. 
The unharried clerk 
tells of his night 
at the opera, 
in no particular hurry. 
It seems some nut 
upstaged Rodolpho, 
running down an aisle 
reciting some politico 
manifesto about 
what who knew? I mean, I'm like, 
the clerk says in a sing-song 
falsetto, 
Mimi, she's vulnerable, 
augmenting 
this last with musicality 
with a grimace, 
and this crazy cat wants 
all the attention. 
You know what I mean? 
I mean, we're all wounded, 
impuissant, 
but this is Mimi's moment. 
Know what I mean? 
And all in his line nod yes.