years later

Years later
If we cross each other again

In some seedy supermarket aisle,

Will we just walk past ?

Or be civil enough

To stop and smile

And find time

To exchange pleasantries?

Worse

We see each other

Yet keep reading the back of the cereal box.

Dreading the questions

And their answers

Wondering if its too late,

As we already know

The relationship is way past its expiry date.

Even worse

We look yet don’t remember

Name , work , face, place

The unforgettable one

Is now just a blurred laugh

Or even worse

Stop

Look

Shuffle the grocery bag,

Wishing ‘small talk’ came with a price tag.

But then it dawns,

The Price has already been paid.

So, now, at the check-out counter,

I don’t turn

I act blind.

Hurrying out I realize

I have left the cash bill

And Everything Else

Behind.