Killing Time

--Jessica D. Thompson

       

The old woman in the Dollar Store

buys a child's swimming pool—

a rigid circle

of watery blue plastic.

It could be a surprise

for a grandchild

or a faithful companion

who has never been to a groomer.

Maybe I'm romanticizing

the story. Perhaps

she wants to soak her aching feet.

I watch her cross the parking lot,

blue disc in a palsied hand,

and suddenly I want to follow

her home. Watch her sit

in a sagging lawn chair—

filling up the emptiness.