This poem feels like someone remembering what it was like to want everything you were told could make life brighter even if it was cheap, plastic, or already falling apart. The aisles of faded Barbies, dried nail polish, and dollar‑store treasures feel so real, like the kind of things a kid clings to because they shimmer with possibility. And then the grandmother appears, carrying her own quiet dreams across oceans in plastic bags, turning small gestures into something almost sacred. That contrast hits hard: the junk‑store glitter of America and the soft, stubborn hope of someone who crossed the world with almost nothing. The poem captures that mix of longing and innocence, wanting to buy a whole life for 99 cents because you don’t yet know what real value is. And that last line wanting to buy everything and forget it by Monday feels painfully honest. It’s the kind of dream you only understand if you grew up wanting more than the world ever
I wanted to forget about my riches. That's pretty clever.
This poem feels like someone remembering what it was like to want everything you were told could make life brighter even if it was cheap, plastic, or already falling apart. The aisles of faded Barbies, dried nail polish, and dollar‑store treasures feel so real, like the kind of things a kid clings to because they shimmer with possibility. And then the grandmother appears, carrying her own quiet dreams across oceans in plastic bags, turning small gestures into something almost sacred. That contrast hits hard: the junk‑store glitter of America and the soft, stubborn hope of someone who crossed the world with almost nothing. The poem captures that mix of longing and innocence, wanting to buy a whole life for 99 cents because you don’t yet know what real value is. And that last line wanting to buy everything and forget it by Monday feels painfully honest. It’s the kind of dream you only understand if you grew up wanting more than the world ever
promised you.
Thank you so much, Adrião, for your kind words. They mean so much to me!
Best poem on this site I've seen, I think, Brilliant.
Sydney, thank you so much! ♡
Wow, so glad you like it so much, Sydney!