Melanie Browne- A Poem

Inside the New Neighborhood Wal-Mart

He tries to decide

what to buy in

the toy aisle,

a foam nerf football,

a magic eight ball,

a package of army men,

hurry up,

i tell him,

someone might 

steal our bikes!

we look both ways

and cross the street,

my knees

like an ancient

rusty barn hinge,

i think about the

deep wrinkle

above my mouth,

and how earlier

I googled "botox"

I googled "filler",

I pretend this is

great fun,

riding bikes to the

store,

as the sun slowly

degrades 

my middle-aged

skin