I don’t like queueing in traffic. I don’t like shopping when it’s busy. In the build up to Christmas these are the modest first world problems we must face. My trip to the supermarket was played out in slow motion as the chaos unravelled all around me.
Shoppers teetered on the edges of their patience apart from a delightful calm frail old lady, wide eyed and static amidst the frothing sea of madness as if waiting for somebody to lead her across a busy road. Here’s to her! I wonder what she thought of it all…
Twas the day before Christmas
Last chance to shop
I had bought all the presents
This was no time to stop
The food now needs buying
A list had been made
Now out to the supermarket
In the rain I’m afraid
The traffic was portentous
Never such queues
I suppose it was obvious
This day all would choose
To stock up their larders
With seasonal fare
So I held my breath
And for battle prepared
The cars they went nowhere
So I parked up and walked
Past drivers tight lipped
And passengers fraught
A walk through the car park
Though huge, with no space
And into the foyer
Last basket, worried face
Such scenes I have never
Encountered before
Trolleys were bashing
Like uncut Robot Wars
Gripping my basket
I dodged down the aisle
Weaving staccato
Through chicanes with guile
Couples with trolleys
Piled to the hilt
Are they feeding an army
Or feeding their guilt
Screaming young children
I know how they feel
Dragged here unwilling
You got a raw deal
Bewildered old granny
Waiting in line
With patience unworldly
For sherry and wine
To add to the carnage
A bottle is dropped
And aisle 9 is coned off
Until it is mopped
The air hums with tension
And shoppers are stressed
Perish the thought
If it’s not Sainsburys Best
Staff work like trojans
On endless till lanes
Cliff Richard on loop
How do they stay sane
My wait for self-checkout
Is mercifully short
Unrecognised item in bagging area
That didn’t scan like I thought
I fall through the exit
And rain hits my face
I made it in one piece
Survived the rat race!
Twas the day before Christmas
A tale of our time
When we see friends and family
It’s all going to be fine
My thanks to Clement Clarke Moore whose considerably superior parable Twas the night before Christmas was a source of inspiration.
Merry Christmas!