At The Food Pantry
One woman grabbed two cartons of eggs
Instead of one
And was rebuked loudly
By a church lady with a bitter, pinched face.
On the other hand,
There was humanity.
I have served at the food pantry
In Nowhere, New Jersey
For awhile now,
And I feel as if I have seen all aspects
Of human nature there.
As for myself, the bystander, always
The bystander, smiling,
Handing out goods
And never knowing if I ever will
Have a place either.
Noelle Kocot is the author of six books of poetry, most recently, Soul in Space(Wave Books, 2013). She has also translated a book of poetry by the French poet, Tristan Corbiere, called Poet by Default. She’s won numerous awards for her writing, including those from The National Endowment for the Arts, The Fund for Poetry, The Academy of American Poets, The Lannan Foundation and The American Poetry Review. Her work has been widely anthologized, including in Best American Poetry 2001, 2012 and 2013 and Postmodern American Poetry: A Norton Anthology. So far, her work is being read and taught in at least 15 different countries. Originally from Brooklyn, she now lives in New Jersey and teaches writing in New York, including at The New School.
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