The Ballad of Walters Grocery

 

The Ballad of Walters Grocery

I.

Lincoln Forbes killed Pierre Smith
late one April night.
Pierre held up Lincoln's store. He
never should've tried.

Pierre jumped the counter,
pointed a gun that was a toy!
Lincoln's gun was real and loaded
so Pierre had to die.

He'd already played his hand
at the diner down the street.
Scattering customers and the counter man
when he showed up with his fake.

But he couldn't open the register.
That setback sealed his fate.
There'd be cash at the corner store—
so Pierre was working late.

How could he know—someone
from the diner warned
their corner grocer? Lincoln
was polite and he had friends.

He didn't brag or swagger—he
was mannerly and neat.
But he took all threats as real
and he stayed ready.

 

II.

I met Lincoln Forbes soon
after, when I inspected his store
that June. The restroom door
opens to the prep area, I said—deli cooler

and sinks. It's grandfathered,
but it needs a closing device
so it always shuts behind you.
Then he explained that alone,

if he had to use it or wash his hands,
he couldn't risk closing a door—
couldn't lose sight of the store.
He was matter of fact

when he told me, so I was
matter of fact when I heard:
I was held up in April and I killed him.
I'm not afraid but I have to beware.

 

III.

He was matter of fact
when he told me, so I was
matter of fact when I heard.

It must've been different
the night that it happened,
but the fact is, I wasn't there.

A June afternoon, new inspector
in his store...Lincoln was calm
and polite. But in April—threatened—he'd

drawn his gun and killed.
How had he felt that night?
As the years rolled by

I saw guns. Under counters
or carryout trays. In waistbands—
unconcealed or holstered—to

keep dollars in the till
and trouble at bay. I learned
to stay watchful—alert without

drama, taking my cues from
grocers and cashiers. Things
don't happen till they do,

and you need to make a living—
which you can if you tamp
down your fears.