Becoming the Grocer

Stephan Wolfman
was called Steve
when he was young
and friendlier.
His name reverted
to its more formal
varient as he grew
grouchier and his
friends began to bail.

Stephan owned
a grocery store
on the corner of
Higgens and Main,
the coldest and lonliest
corner in the world.
It's torn down now,
replaced by the lawn
of the Aboriginal Center for
spiritual development.

The grocery aged badly,
darkening and repelling
until the only goings on inside
were shadowy movements in the rear
and the windows were
filled with a few pieces of
half rotten fruit.

I would twice daily ride the number 47 bus
which rounds the corner of Higgens and Main
every twenty minutes. I never caught a glimpse
of Stephan Wolfman until I was a few days from retirement.
I saw him emerging through the door
just as the bus rounded the corner
and my eyes had their fill of him.
He looks just like me.