At the grocery store
a cheerful man is
hanging paper snowflakes
from the ceiling.
Each one is coated in silver glitter
and is bigger than his head.
You can’t help but look up.
He smiles while he works, says
something funny to each of us,
the dozens of shoppers who pass by.
He stands at the top of a ladder
with all his supplies—
A ball of string, scissors, metal hangars
and a stack of snowflakes
sprinkling cheer and glitter.
By the end of his shift
he’ll shine.
Puff Of Smoke Poems 