9:30 p.m.
the sun's down
a few more customers to go;
it's only a half hour left
before i get to take the punch.
"God I'm tired,"
I say to an almost empty store
Whispering to myself
I wonder how much longer I will have to endure.
But it's no sense in crying
there's work to be done
and these tears,
these tears won't pay the bills.

"OK, she's ready to make that final purchase;
good, cause I'm ready to get home."

As I bend down to pick up the bag that somehow got away from me,
I look up
only to stare into the eyes of the most beautiful person I've ever seen.

"Who is she?"
I ponder
wondering how long she's been standing there
amazed because I don't remember seeing her come in.
"I bet she has it all,"
I say out loud without saying a word.
I can tell by the gentleness of her stare
the soft twinkle in her eye
that she is loved.

But there's a hint of sadness that surfaces from behind those baby, dark brown eyes.
Ironically, we sigh at the exact same time,
"As if she knows how it is to be frustrated."
But there's a familiarity to her.
Somehow I felt as if I would have said something,
we would both tell the same story.

But I couldn't speak.

For just one second,
I imagined how it must have been to live in her shoes;
I imagined how all eyes would settle on her,
how chaos becomes peace when her presence walks through the door
I know her family adores her
Her mate offers praises to the Creator
just for the blessing that is her.

"She's so blessed and probably doesn't know it,"
I think
becoming upset because I don't understand why she looks so sad.
I betcha if she only took the time to see
just to meditate on the beauty she holds so deep within,
she wouldn't let life's lessons take her down
because ultimately,
in the end,
she wins...

"Excuse me miss, are you OK?"
a voice rings out with concern.
I nod
I pick up the bag to finish out the transaction.
And as I look up,
I look up into the eyes of the most beautiful person I've ever seen

I look into my own eyes staring at me in the mirror

From Lessons from the Fall, a book of poetry and inspiration, by D.L. Carpenter
To read more, visit www.dlcarpenter.com