THE AUTOMATIC DOOR AT THE GROCERY STORE LETS THE BULL MOOSE IN

Because the technology here is democratic—
though I had to step on that triggered mat

many times before my own recognition—
he is welcomed now and has been well before

the foodstuffs of leafy greens and fruits
were plucked and neatly lined in rows,

stickered with a human value, and left to
rot under the off-white lights of America.

Aaron Sandberg has appeared or is forthcoming in West Trade Review, Sporklet, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Abridged, Unbroken, The Racket, Writers Resist, Neologism, Yes Poetry, perhappened mag, Right Hand Pointing, Monday Night, and elsewhere. He lives and teaches in Illinois. You might find him—though socially-distant—on Instagram @aarondsandberg.