food for thought

i stand in line
--------
one person/right behind another.
I see the woman
right in front of me.
her face is all
the same color.
pale skin,
pale,
sunken
eyes.
her hair is falling
like hay
down her
back.
her clothes: grungy.
i judge her.
a click in my brain.
sub-conscious. i judge without
even trying.
she places groceries in front
of the cashier.
a gallon
of milk.
a loaf
of bread.
bare necessities.
she pays in crumpled
dollar bills.
I judge without even trying.
do you?
had i looked further,
i would have seen;
a 1988 senior prom queen,
a lover of the color pink,
a smeller of flowers,
a fear of pain,
a broken hearted lover,
a single jobless mother of three.
she owns one pair of shoes.
she does homework with her children.
she cries herself to sleep at night.
she prays for someone to care.
do you?