Supermarket Dash
On semi-automatic around the supermarket
Sophie blanks out this week’s special offer
of red suitcases stored one inside the other
like Russian Dolls
and the decadence of Easter Eggs
in store at least eight weeks before
Christ is risen again.
Sleep deprived she steers through
healthy eating. Every little helps
she knows. Be good to yourself
she thinks. Because I’m worth it
she prays – and into the trolley it goes.
She stocks up while stocks last.
On her way to five-a-day
she must keep going.
She keeps going while the baby stocks up
on beauty sleep, safe in her dream world
snug in the toddler seat, a new punter
in the making, blind to slick slogans
and bags under her mother’s eyes.
On the aisle to the check out
(the runway to release)
Sophie avoids the girl with eyebrows
groomed to arch surprise and detours
the bedheaded youth who, she guesses
doesn’t know his brassicas from his legumes
and settles on the Indian lady,
all smiles and Brummy accent.
The loyaltycard slides magnetic facts
into distant databanks as the debit card
diminishes the balance and the Indian lady says
Would you like cashback with that, love?
(and somehow compresses
real feeling into the phrase.)
Sophie’s eyes prick.
(Initially this poem started in my head while thinking about words which have amalgamated to become one: ‘window,’ was ‘winds eye,’ was the actual starting point, Strange how these things evolve. I entered it into a competition and it was placed. I have a pair of earrings which I bought with the prize money. The competition was run by ‘Speakeasy’ )
Boadicea's Chariot 
Speakeasy website:
http://www.mkweb.co.uk/Speakeasy/
Bearsy, thank you for the brilliant re-design of the front page.
(I don’t know if others feel the same, but both ‘creative writing’ and ‘poetry’ could come under one tab, leaving a little more space for an alternative extra one if you need it? This is not to appear ungrateful for the way you have done it, but more because others may feel two tabs there for cw and p may seem a little greedy?)
No problem Pseu, you can have whatever you like, these are only (working) samples. You can have a second row too, if necessary. Just let me know. 🙂
🙂
Nice poem Pseu. Very clear and I like the little catch phrases interspersed.
“and settles on the Indian lady,” Same here, when I go to the bank.
Bearsy, if you are reading this, may I suggest that if it is possible you increase the space given to ‘Recent Comments’. I don’t know about others, but I use it as guide to find out which posts are hot. If there are several that are catching the attention of readers, one or more of them can be hidden by the fact that one post in particular if getting a lot of attention. Recent Comments is the most significant heading as far as I am concerned. Perhaps decrease the size of the ‘Authors Archives’ thumbnails. Just a suggestion.
Flows nicely, Nym: I enjoyed this. Well done with the competition.
Front page redesign is excellent, Bearsy, but I agree with Nym. We could certainly manage with just the one for “Creative Writing” if anyone else would like the space.
I must remember to use the categories more, but having them at the top of the page certainly helps.
Evening all. What a cold Spring day here. But lots done in the garden. Just a quick catch up ….
Sipu
The “Recent Comments” list is already set at the maximum permitted. We had this conversation when DNMT first started.
But why do you not use the “Comments” page in the Dashboard?
All comments are listed there, back to the very first; the page can be filtered, if necessary, and one can go straight to a post/comment from that page. Everything you could possibly want is to be found there.
Bearsy, Angel and Daddy Bear, I am going to risk being shredded, marmelised and whatever, but please, oh please, tell me how I can get back to a post from the comments on the Dashboard to the blog in question? Abjectly ignorant and I promise I have consulted every available help menu and so on buT… best regards, Detective Mouse ( failed ).
Araminta –
Click on the “Date/Time stamp” which is in the first line in the “Comment” column, before the text of the comment. The appropriate post will open, at that comment.
Aha, thanks Bearsy, I’ve been clicking and clicking but obviously not in the right place. Sorry to be a pain! xx
Pseu, driving East and stuck in jams due to roadworks, I ‘wrote’ a whole poem inspired by your nearly fifty remarks. When I finally got a pencila nd some paper in front of me I found I had forgotten it. Some bitrs may re-emerge, but until then, apologies and grrrs of frustration!
Bearsy, it doesn’t work!. It does if you are an administrator; I’ve just tested it on my own site and it works, but not here, where we are all authors. Try it and see, or
Bartender could try it!
oops sorry, having just read the comments, yes I think i agree. I can use ‘my comments’ to see if there’s been any movement on stuff I’ve commented on before, and we alrteady ahve a new posts roll.
BTW how did you do those flags at the top of the page?
Araminta – Oh!
Bugger! I didn’t know that.
That rather leaves us up a gum tree, then. My apologies.
BarTender will investigate, as advised. 😦
I may be wrong, Bearsy but I have clicked and clicked and well…. Bartender could clarify the situation, and it would be good if I were in error!
Isobel –
Hey, Bearsy, the links in your comment #17 are hot. Nifty.
Araminta –
Sadly, you are correct. I will e-mail WordPress about it, but that’s no solution for the present. Sorry, I had assumed (terrible for an engineer) that what I could do, everyone else could do too. It has to be a mistake in WordPress’ code, but who knows if they’ll accept that and change it? 😦
Jaime – Coo! – how about that!
Oh, OK Bearsy, I am sad too, but I thought it was worth bringing the matter to your attention. It has been a cause of some frustration; well on my part, anyway!
Bearsy: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh
Yes, thanks Araminta. It is most annoying. I will see what WordPress has to say, but it will take time.
Isobel – you asked, so I answered! 😦
Bearsy: Next time in a language I understand please!
Like it, Pseu, a lot! I have a lot in common with Sophie – have you been watching me on the supermarket run?!
Funny how catchphrases and advertising stick in the mind – because I’m worth it etc. I’m probably an advertising exec’s dream. 😉
Isobel – Sorry, but that’s the only way to do it. 😥
NOTE
WordPress replied very quickly, and shorn of the usual gobbledegook their answer was “Tough! – that’s the way it is.”
Sorry. 😥
Morning all. I am intrigued, Isobel by a poem inspired by my ‘nearly 50’ remarks. Quite scared actually. Which remarks were they? My awful punning!
I’m glad you bought that up, Ara. I too have tried to navigate from the dashboard directly into a post, but haven’t been able to. At least now know it wasn’t me.
Claire, no spying! But maybe what I felt sometimes as a mother rings a chord with a few others in the same situation?