Walking to Walmart

Looking up at the Coke bottle universe
with its effervesence of stars
the crisp clear night slakes my thirst
like the miraculous cup of cola
that was our salvation one July
when as kids on summer break
we decided to walk to Walmart
because there was nothing better to do

and because we did not know it had closed

O how we despaired of those locked doors
the dark windows denying the hope in our hearts
the spirit of adventure shrivled like wood shavings
scattered and blown away by the hot wind
despair setting in with the realization
that the journey would be doubled

how had we not considered the return?

We would've laid down right there
on the molton lava asphalt, become
another set of abandoned parking bumps
had you not spotted the sign
lit up red and green like early Christmas
Grinder's Family Restaurant -- Open
redemption in the form of a cool blast of AC
and the deliverance of unlimited refills