Women compare their complexion
to the sultry smooth skin of rosy peaches.
The cash registers chime, serenading
the vain customers with every beep and rattle.
A teenage boy licks his lips and grins
ravenously as he watches girls bend
to reach the bottom shelf of the magazine rack.
Bell peppers nestle between carrots and scallions
whispering spicy, gossipy secrets to each other.
The children cry in the aisle of ice cream,
demanding gallons and writing
their names in the frosty windows.
Steaks watch from their bed of ice and wait
lazily for heat lamps to kiss them alive again.
Everyone lingers at the bakery, pausing
to inhale the undeserved sweetness.