Where do they all go when they're not here?
I saw two young girls, giggling,
Comparing carrots to I don't know what.
A man passes me in a hurry,
Lines of concentration on his brow,
Swirls of anxiety in his wake,
While a silver haired old lady
Peruses the wine labels, half smiling.
I wonder if she's planning a romantic dinner.
Two small children pass in a cloud of laughs,
Ignoring the cries of a harried mother
And hiding round the corner of the bread rolls.
Waiting breathlessly, wide eyed, grinning.
A pair of teenagers lounge studiously,
Studying the CD racks with one eye
And a couple of girls with the other,
Exuding nonchalance and pheremones.
People in shop uniforms bustle,
Filling shelves, sweeping, giving directions
With fixed grins, genuine grins, warm smiles,
An occasional grimace.
White, black, brown, yellow,
They're all here, and then gone again,
Replaced minute by minute.
Where do they come from?
Where do they go?
What do they do, think, want, dislike?
How many are saints, sinners, lunatics?
Are any of them aware of me? Each other?
Oh, my line is moving,
Got to go.