A Simple Grocery List
At The World Market
This piece was inspired by Mackenzie Davis's Grocery List Challenge. Since mine is not actually a list, I doesn't quite fit the prompt. But that's okay. Thanks for the inspiration Mackenzie.
I went to the world market
with a simple grocery list
of milk, eggs, flour, fruit
and maybe some beef.
To make myself a comfort meal
with sweets and fruits and stew.
A simple task, for a simple meal,
for a simple life.
But when I arrived,
the cherries were sour.
The raspberries had mold.
And when I slipped on the container of spilt milk,
I heard a loud boom before I hit the floor.
I saw lights flash above me,
and I swear someone was frying popcorn
in a pan as big as the sky.
Then when I looked up through the powered haze of the broken bags of flour,
the bulls were running roughshod through the market,
while lambs hid behind transparent walls
that fell like eggshell towers
into a sticky macabre mixture of mashed strawberries and cocoa jelly.
And as I watched a crying girl seek refuge behind those eggshell towers while she picked pomegranate seeds from her face,
I cried.
While the oblivious went about their business and shopped their comfort items, for their simple meals, for their simple lives,
I cried.
For that little girl,
and for the long-lost memory of my grandmother’s raisin bread.
About the Creator
Cathy holmes
Canadian family girl with a recently discovered love for writing. Other loves include animals and sports.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Keep reading
More stories from Cathy holmes and writers in Poets and other communities.
He's Not That Bad, Really
Rob, I take you as my awful wedded husband, said the blushing bride. *** True story. That was my former sister-in-law's vow to my brother on that fateful day many years ago. It was a small service, with the bride and groom, and some close family members. Of course, we all started giggling when she made that slip.
By Cathy holmes8 months ago in Poets
Poemosaurus Rex Challenge Winners
Hard to conceive, now, how extraordinary it would have been to find the bones of those terrible lizards in the earth — in a time before humans had conceived of anything other than a Great Chain of Being, a static creation. Yet long after Darwin they still have a hold over us, these creatures which are the ancestors of sparrows and seagulls. All hail the dinosaur! They are at once real and mythic, objects of science and objects of wonder, exhibitions in museums and children’s toys. No wonder Vocal Creators responded with such a variety of work to our Poemosaurus prompt.
By Vocal Curation Team5 days ago in Resources
Comments (40)
You told a beautiful story here, Cathy I’m not sure I understood it all 🤔 poetry is a challenge for me, but I really enjoyed all of the imagery and the flow of the writing! You have a wonderful ability to draw me into your narrative and make me want to reread it just to make sure I truly savour the moment :)
Your words really painted all the images in my head, your have wonderful storytelling ability through poems. 
This was crazy! Could easily imagine it all! Congrats on a swell top story too! 😊👏
Congratulations on top story
List won't be forgot and the lines too
Looks like a Top Story was on your grocery list! Congratulations!
Sensory heights here, Cathy. This is expert-levels, Top Story-an! You're riding with the big dawgs now! Abi will be talkin' smack 😉
This is really, really good. The eggshell box parts are fascinating. The colours are alive. The emotion true. Well done!
Wow, this poem has me in awe! I felt the world still for a moment as I read this! This is so beautifully written with amazing imagery!! Great work Cathy and congrats on Top Story!
This was great! Loved the imagery. Congrats on the TS!
How frightening the world is, when we look.
Fuck this was impactful and just truly a work of art
Wow. I'm teary-eyed in a good way. This is beautiful. Congrats on the Top Story.
wow, congratulations on TS.
Woohoo, TS! 🎉
Congratulations!!! 🩵🎊🎊🎉
This is stunning, buddy. Just another example of your excellence. That line really hits hard. Congrats on Top Story!
Congratulations on your Top Story✨🎉🧡🧡🎉🎉🎉🎉
Great work, once again! Congrats
Wow. Cathy. This was phenomenal. Like only you could make this so poignant. 🫶🫶🙌🏻🙌🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Incredible Cathy. You made me feel something and the taste of raisin bread is still lingering in sadness. Well done.
Excellent work Cathy, it’s why I order my groceries delivered now hahaha.
Yep, I'm the guy who undoubtedly stands there looking around asking, "What happened?"
This was something else. Grocery shopping never turns out to be what we want, but that last line broke me. Great writing.
Great work! Very unique!!!!