stranger danger?

Mugged

     

A very large and pretty, shapely china cup —

bright flowers, spring-green leaves, one stripy wing-spread bee

emblazoned on its plump white curves — surprise to see it

gleaming on a store shelf near some aprons hanging down

some small Italian crackers, cutting boards, pale cannellini beans . . .

Odd cup! odd here and much too big for coffee

but caught my eye — why? guess somehow it seemed to be

so . . . oddly practical, useful cup for certain kinds of soup

proper size and shape and shade for green potage

or minestrone, even borscht, maybe?

Not necessary to acquire it, nor anything

(unless ongoingness means food gets deemed a need)

yet shapely cup lodged somewhere in the errant mind

while weekdays passed — and then more food restocking

one more Saturday, in same old market once again

reno'd now, great big Italian place a few blocks down

where we had shopped for pasta, cheese, for many years —

on that same shelf, gleaming, the cup . . . still waiting there

beyond the shiny green-hued olive oil

before the jasmine scented bubble bath

And, to my own surprise,

at once I stopped

stopped short mid-stride

there by the big bright cup

and swiftly picked it up

purchased it

possessed it

right then

right there —

Three cold days pass

then bang it hits me out of nowhere

while walking home

see something sprouting, bright spring green

same bright spring green from painted, gaudy, too-large cup

how ugly strange it is for me

how hopeless to buy just one cup

one solitary mug, and never even think —

the way I always, always auto-thought before —

of buying, getting . . .needing two.