Today
you called out
“Do you work here?”
and you told me
“I need a bath mat.”
and I pointed to the back wall
and said, “There they are,
down below all the towels.”
“NOT A TOWEL!” you snarled.
“Bath mat. M-A-T.
You know what a bath mat is, don’t you?”
Like I was the stupidest person in the entire world.
And I need you to know that
while today
I loaded up that mini-fridge for you
Climbed the ladder in the back room to retrieve
that one kind of special rice cooker you wanted
Broke down over a hundred boxes
Unwrapped every individual spoon
Gathered up your used Starbucks cups
Chirped “absolutely” and “let me scan that for you”
dozens and dozens of times
once, I was a king.
Once,
years ago, I stood on a mountain top
and all the world was still.
The green hills spread on all sides around me
The river shone like a mirror reflecting the wide pale sky
The road snaked down in both directions until it
disappeared in the folds of the lowlands
I felt the magnetic pull of ancient dirt beneath my feet
And my heart was a full-throated song
So yes,
Here are the bath mats.
I do know what that word means.
Can I help you find anything else?
Let me check if we have it in the back.
I’m so sorry but we’re actually out of that.
No, you can’t buy the display model.
Pardon me while I just squeeze through here.
Hope you have a nice day!
There was a flower that grew by the roadside
on that day
up high on that mountain
As a king I could have crushed it
but no wise king ever would.
