December 3, 2024

holy days

What would Jesus buy is a question I’ve never asked myself 
when considering the small business boom of a Black Friday deal. 
But the refrigerators lining the center aisle at Macleod’s emit 
an altar vibe. Holy sheen of stainless steel. Ice dispensers like tithing bowls.
I walk past each set of closed doors, faithfully read the literature
at the handles. A shepherd by the name of Jason leads us 
through the maze of ranges next, and when the word “induction” 
enters our exchange, I see the rising steam from a future stew,
like incense from a thurible, and we as acolytes trailing behind it.
Soon, I know, the swoon will break, interrupted by the pads of fingers
on a calculator keypad. For now, I lose myself to the haloed, hapless belief
my existence depends on a wifi-enabled Frigidaire and a stovetop that can
miraculously boil water in 30 seconds. And look, a button I can press
to turn it all off.