Thrift Shop by Joan McNerney

Thrift Shop

I descend clutching a

teetering banister to the

bowels of this holy place.

A sign welcomes me to

St. Mary’s Basement Boutique

where scent of unloved

clothing assaults me.

I finger grubby blouses

and skirts hanging limp

week after week unwanted.

Where is it? Hidden beneath

mounds of faded tee shirts?

Where is that swag I will

brag on for months?

At last I uncover something

beyond belief….a mohair sweater

snow white with pastel flowers.

A good fit, my prayer answered.

Retired ladies glance up.

They are volunteers filling

another empty afternoon.

The cashier consults her price list.

“One dollar” she says as I reply with

quick “thanks” fleeing blissfully.

When I get home, my bonanza

is baptized in cool water and suds

now reborn, lustrous and all mine.

Joan McNerney’s poetry has been included in numerous literary magazines such as Seven Circle Press, Dinner with the Muse, Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze, Blueline, and Halcyon Days.  Three Bright Hills Press Anthologies, several Poppy Road Review Journals, and numerous Kind of A Hurricane Press Publications have accepted her work.  Her latest title is Having Lunch with the Sky and she has four Best of the Net nominations.