Barely as tall as the shopping cart,
I could tell that we were getting closer to the produce
aisle
As fresh peach and apple fragrances greeted my nose.
I reached upward toward the sparkling display of grapes.
I noticed that my mother’s navy blue sneakers kept on
walking.
“We’re boycotting grapes,” she said as she pushed the
shopping cart
Past the green and purplish-black jewels
Without missing a beat.
(I thought of one day during the previous school year
When we had an assembly because a great man had died.
We saw a film about bus boycotts and lunch counters,
And signs that said who could drink at which water fountain.)
I turned and looked at the forlorn grape display,
Realizing that they did not look as sumptuous as they did
two minutes ago.
And that was the day I learned to shop.
© Judith C Evans 2014
Shared at Poets United Midweek Motif . . . this week's prompt is BOYCOTT
