Meditation in a Grocery Store by Katie Boord

She has tiny golden curls and big blue eyes,

This child who grabbed my hand in the grocery store.

She thought I was her mother,

And in that brief moment of looking down

While she looks up, her little baby teeth grinning wide

Before she sees me, really sees me

I feel that same confidence in myself.

Sometimes I glimpse a familiar stride,

Faintly hear a laugh I’m sure I know, I have to,

Recognize the color of a favorite jacket –

And I think, He’s here.

I want to reach out without a second thought

And know that He will lead me home,

Never minding my sticky, trusting fingers.

Katie Boord is a poet living in Kansas. She works in a geology lab by day, and sings in an indie rock band by night. Her poems have been published in Elsewhere: A Journal of Place, Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, and The Windhover.