The Dollar Store

Ubiquitous as the other
golden Icon, ever a beacon,
promising
what is not deliverable.
Fine food, functional
objects, basic needs
unless candied worms,
cheap perfume, milk
farmed with hormones.
Planned obsolescence.
Chairs that fold and break
on impact, flashlights
with less than an hour
of light.  Yet we pour
in, Pockets stuffed
with dollars.
The boats arrive daily
at the docks stacked
with China.

Linda Rocheleau is a poet and grant writer living in Asheville, N.C. She is a former educator who continues to work as a substitute/interim teacher. Her work has appeared in small press publications, such as Chiron Review, and in other journals and anthologies, including Savannah Literary Journal and The Paradelle, introduced by Billy Collins.