The view from Booths’ Café, looking down into the store
Not my usual fare... (and with a last-minute correction!)
The view from Booths’ Café, looking down into the store
Confectionery glitterati.
Over-zealous lettering.
Newly christened florescence.
Fonts designed to entrance.
Extra-large packs of
chocolate - light and dark -
tantalisingly wrapped,
indiscreetly begging to be
opened, as if each bar might be
nirvana, its latest taste
exceptional, beyond the last,
resigned to your impulse to
yield to childhood desires.
Laundry shelves hum to
a symphony of cleanliness.
Understated blues
neon oranges and yellows
disguise toughness;
romantically named fragrances
yield to chemical prowess.
Pet-food tins
endorsed by canines,
tails wagging in doggy
frenzy, tongues lolloping,
overtly enthusiastic,
optimistic, buoyant,
dancing to our tune.
Household essentials
object to all that razzmatazz;
utilitarian in the extreme,
sacks of black and grey and green
embrace the fight against grime.
Hoover bags anticipate inflation.
Orange marigolds (tougher than yellow) abut
luxury washing powders,
detergent deterrence.
Toiletries seek discretion,
offer protection, solutions’
intimacy packaged in
lemon or pastel blue.
Exfoliation promises smoothness;
tanning balms the illusion of
rude health, beach-readiness;
imperfections controlled by
enriched creams and
strange and undiscovered elements.
Medicines promise to
erode pain or the
discomfiture of bowels;
improbable magic potions
concocted for resolution of
infections. Dressings and lotions
nurture skin repair, promise
enhancement of follicles,
suspension of ageing.
International foods
nudge across the divide,
tantalise with their
exotic difference.
Running against the tide of
normal, their language is
adapted, anglicised
to make them palatable:
ingredients, letters, words
overlaid like pepper;
novelty massaged for consumption;
aromas promised
linger in the mouth of words.
Finding a new taste
overjoys and delights,
our sense of community suddenly
discovered beyond the borders
scarred on maps.
Condiments are like compliments
offered up proportionally,
not to highlight
deficiency but merely to
improve or heighten,
make familiar,
edge closer to what we know,
negate any sense of shock.
Testament to its power,
salt is a universal leveller.Ten bonus points if you realised this was an acrostic poem! Collect 49,990 more points to get 2p off your shopping…!
This is just a bit of fun, really - and probably familiar territory for some of my North Yorkshire friends! Hope you liked it.
Fun!