Green dot specials (inspired by Jim Daniels)

I saw a photo on the internet

Some social media site

A hand holding an old baseball

One side marked with congratulations:

“Billy’s first homerun”

“1992”

The other side congratulatory too:

99 cents.

Where else can you go

To sift through the artifacts

You don’t need a fancy degree

To relive the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and today.

The one chipped dish

In a set that could’ve been your grandmother’s.

The one she never used

The one you could only see from behind the glass.

The shoes that show the wear of love

And the abandonment of disdain

The worn brown suede with the strings

And the clunky heel

And the red dot sticker

“2.99”

Where else can you go

To go through your neighbor's things?

To shamelessly rifle through the discards

Of your community

And beyond

Where else can you find

That diamond in the rough

That Zeppelin in the rack

Of 100 Jefferson airplanes

That smell of repurpose

That dingy, wholesome smell

Of reclaimed dignity

And upcycling treasures

How has no one else claimed these treasures?

Who on earth would leave these behind?

There must be a different treasure shop

Because where else could you go

For these green sticker deals

These second-hand steals

The find of a lifetime

Is waiting for me here.