Jimmy Pitts is a poet, artist, and co-editor of Vox Journal
in Oxford, Mississippi.
“Thrift Store Stolen Moment”
from The Local Voice #41: Download PDF
The thift store kings and queens are on the prowl,
sifting through racks of
second-hands and hand-me-downs,
donations and throwaways
in this little store in the west end of Nashville.
It’s an early morning Monday, and
I’m half-hearted, fresh from the doctor,
looking for a starched white shirt with a pointed collar
that I can take home for pennies on the dollar.
Some of these people don’t have jobs,
but still they’re here to spend,
looking at faux wood entertainment centers,
and dented copper cookware,
and shoes with worn out soles.
That’s how thrift store royalty rolls, you see–
yesterday’s chicken lays tomorrow’s egg,
and then you come by and pluck it up for a song.
I don’t have time, I don’t have the money
I wish I had to spend in this palace of bargains.
So I just pay my pittance and shuffle to the door,
careful to step over the children
who wait on their parents to sniff out the hidden deals,
and play with old toys that are scattered along the floor.
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