The supermarket cashier scares us,
raises her voice at us when we forget
she is the one who places
the divider between our orders,
she decides what heavy items
should stay in the cart to be scanned

she rules the line
as the conveyor belt rolls
between our worlds of negotiation

where only one of us stands
all day on a little mat watched
by a security camera while
mechanical doors open and close
letting the unforgiving coldness in
to bear witness to the exchange
of our goods and bads