Draeger's

by

Michael J. Vaughn
 

 

Oh, I know
But you tire of the constant
yakety schmack
the doo wah diddy and the
hoi polloi

Today you go where
the cheeses are lined up six deep
where the cakes wear prom dresses
and the deli slices
are as thin as a
politician's promise

Never mind that you don't belong here
Give your carcass to the poor
some other time
Buy a Chilean fruit
that you can't afford
and feel the currency smoosh
between your teeth

If you board the elevator and
perform a time-step it will
take you to the miniature golf course
on the roof

Place a hole-in-one in the
lobby of the Empire State Building
and the still-living Frank Sinatra
will sing a few bars of “Summerwind”
as he hands you
the most beautiful
lemon meringue pie
in the world.

Because at Draeger's
we know what you want
before you do.

 

Author's note: 

 

Draeger's is a high-end grocery store in Menlo Park, California.

 

“Hoi polloi” is sometimes incorrectly used to mean “the elite,” possibly because... it sounds like “hoity-toity.”

-Dictionary.com

 

Michael J. Vaughn is the author of Rhyming Pittsburgh (LBFBooks.com) and five other novels. His poems and short stories have appeared in more than fifty literary journals. He writes for several magazines, including Writer's Digest, San Francisco Weekly and Tacoma's Weekly Volcano. Vaughn lives in Tacoma, Washington.