Back of the Shelf
by Lark
· 28/12/2025
Published 28/12/2025 16:41
The back of the pantry,
a dusty archaeology.
New cans, shiny labels,
pushed to the front.
Then, behind the garbanzos,
the forgotten monument.
A can of diced tomatoes,
label faded, crinkled at the edge.
AUG 2022, printed small.
Two years, a quiet burial.
It sat there, mute,
a small cylinder of failure.
I held its cold, dead weight.
Too late for soup, too late for sauce.
Just a dusty reminder
of plans that never quite
made it to the pot.