Love at the Drug Store
They have compounded drugs here,
topped off freshly-made sodas
with bright cherries, and held
the town’s many secrets
for almost as many years
as Mesquite Bend has had
its rusty population sign.
The third owner’s wife brought in
dishes and doilies, a registry
for young brides and perfumes
from the other side of the globe.
She wore red lipstick and swirly dresses
that swayed with her curvy hips.
These days, the soda fountain long gone,
the drug store’s wares are strictly
medicinal, the band-aids lined
with bunion cushions by pimple-faced
stockers who are guided by the stiff
Mrs. Lynn, General Manager and widow
to a war hero long forgotten by all
except herself.
Some nights, well past the hour
when she locks up the store,
Mrs. Lynn returns to dispense
emergency medicines, any call
worthy of the bounty
of friendship in a town
where only this pharmacy holds
the health of them all
in its hands.
Ramona Levacy
April 14, 2015
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