A woman
waits in line behind two kids
at the corner
7/11.
She watches them
take their candy,
get on their bikes,
and ride away.
She sets her Ramen
and antacids
on the counter
and half smiles
at the seventeen year-old
high school drop out.
Without making eye contact,
he tells her:
“$5.79”
She hands him the last
of her cash
with an apology.
As he opens the drawer,
she fumbles under her coat
and her trembling hand
pulls out the gun...