Quieter, today, this tree-fond hardware guy I know

pulls out some big coarse scissors

a sturdy cardboard box

removes one midsized corrugated slice

turns away, turns back

puts pots with gentle care into a yellow bag

now stabilized with cardboard that he cut

then says, as I reach for my card

no no, no charge!

Just take them, just enjoy

Great to see you!

This feels — beyond surprising

kind of dangerously strange —

he's just some random local guy

a counter-serving employee

not owner of this family business

not even, like so many of the staff, a relative —

yet seems so very sure, like he's the boss —

fingers freeze lip-deep inside my narrow purse

really? I half-whisper, afraid he might be heard

might be chastised for his presumption

He smiles

smile just so clear despite the mask

eyes shine out brilliant, vividly unique

Really! Yeah! he says

and, quick compliant, off I go—

despite old inner-darkness, ever-pain

something right in this

strange sudden tribute — flowers

here, from someone that I know

for latest secret bright death day