Missed Connection #1

dear...
comma
i saw you
at the grocery store
not a super market
a grocery store
small
run by an old couple that moved here from pakistan
from india
from brazil
from vietnam
it mattered where but it
didn’t matter where
i saw you at the grocery store
holding a package of salt
holding a package of kosher salt
your hair was blond
i wanted to point out how
incongruous your hair colour was
to your choice of salt
but decided that it wouldn’t be pc
i saw you in the grocery store
your hair was blond
you were beautiful
and i didn’t say anything to you because
i was confused by your choice of salt
maybe i’m superficial
maybe i couldn’t see past your salt
to the real you who made eye contact with me
in the grocery store
which was as odd as your choice in salt because
really
who cruises in a grocery store?
you
your salt
and i
were locked in a
very brief moment
with me trying to work past my own salt
prejudices
and think of something to say
but prejudice takes longer then a
very brief moment
to be erased from the mind
prejudice is the kind of thing that persists
for generations and i hope that my own children dont share my salt prejudices because
you were beautiful
you are beautiful
so i’m posting this ad
on craigslist
hoping you’ll teach me about your culture
about people with blond hair
who buy kosher salt
in a grocery store