And she put the tangerines in her basket
to the righthand side of the dozen eggs
but on top of the dark cooking chocolate
then made her way to the magazine aisle
to flick through stories with headlines like
MY DOG HAS THE SOUL OF MY DAD’S EX
and she chose a birthday card for her sister
with a pun about gin then put it back
and chose one with a sketch of cat
then put it back and thought she’d get the card
from a different shop then went back
to the fruit and veg section to get some tangerines
but remembered she’d already got tangerines
so went to the self-service checkout to pay
then went home and retold her afternoon with vigour.

© Carl Burkitt 2020