Flea Markets

During the pandemic I missed Flea Markets. Especially

the Grand Bazaar right across the street. Tomorrow

they’re opening again. At last.

Many people I know are getting rid of things.

Not me. I can’t just walk by a flea market ever.

Just walk by. And this weekend after

All This Time flea market across the street

will open again.

There is Absolutely Nothing That I Need.

Nothing I am Looking For.

But I search for what I didn’t know before

until I see it there,

innocent and unexpected, often unfamiliar:

small lacquer bowls from the Himalayas,

earrings an odd shade of yellow or green,

guatemalan frog, vintage handbag

with a Queen Elizabeth clasp, 50’s

bag for lipstick and keys.

Tomorrow I will walk through

Grand Bazaar in the schoolyard across the street,

a market I have walked through thousands of times,

always finding something unexpected,

something I didn’t know I needed.