NEEDLING

I’ve just recently learnt
what ‘mellow yellow’ meant
smoking banana peals
never knew that before

No it ain’t nothing like it was
with the coal workers last century

but what does that mean
I mean
it ain’t nothing like it was No
with the Krols
and their knights
enslaving you all around
at the beginning of this era

Smoking banana peals
burning lavender incense
and cooking my new cast iron pot
my mom gave me for Christmas
seasoning it
with olive oil for tomorrow
getting ourselves ready
burning cheese

Yes there’s nothing as bad as I’ve read
but that don’t mean it is as it should be yet
as in we’re at the place we want to be
knowing that all is in place for good
there’s
No moving ahead now
because we’ve firgured this game out

I forgot what I meant to say
here
nothing probably
except it wasn’t what I wanted to talk about
so as not to ruin my diner tomorrow
as all thoughts of work
and paychecks
and especially thoughts of money
must go

Bought all this food
at the Mexican market after I left my work

“Scuse me, d’you know where
I can find some dry prunes?”
I asked this older fellow working there
turning over the yellow onions
throwing away the bad ones
and cleaning off
some flaky skins

“Uhm... habla espagnole... ?”

“Nada...” I said
we both looking at each other
in that way people have
when they’d like to understand each other
but know they won’t
however hard they try

And we smiled at each other understandingly

“No entiende espagnole,” I reiterated apologically
“dry prunes?” I tried again

He shrugged his shoulders and motioned me
to follow him
apparently to get help
on the way there
as a way of making conversation
I said

“Yo hablo Frances?” I said as an apology

He put his arm around me for a second
like I understand you
and we both laughed
a good one
we were friends now
and he introduced me to an even older man
in his late sixties
also with a brown apron on
working for minimum wage
going through the relleno peppers
who spoke three more words
of English
and who was also the nicest man
trying to understand me
not knowing what to say
except send me off to the dry figs
and raisins

I said thank you
“Gracias”
and pushed my cart towards the potatoes
when this younger fellow
came over to me

“You’re looking for something?”

“Dry prunes.”

“Isle three.”

“Thank you.”

And I went there only to find out
they weren’t dry prunes
I wanted
but Dry Plums

And what's the difference?