labels don’t lie, but
they expect you to listen
smallprint sermons curled beneath
expiry dates and shelf dust.
the hermit runs fingers over
“best before” like it’s a dare
and the jar dares back—
containment never suited truth.
canned peaches declare judgment
in syruped certainty:
“you’ll fail. again.”
but the hermit has heard worse
from people who smile.
there’s intent tucked
deep inside plastic wrap—
layers folded like old
wounds waiting to be undone.
and so they shop
not for groceries but to rewrite
what everyone thought
they’d believe.
.
-
Author:
crypticbard (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: January 6th, 2026 06:19
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 11
- Users favorite of this poem: Friendship, Tristan Robert Lange, Dominic Windram
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Comments5
Well written, your poem delves into themes of consumerism, identity, and the psychological impact of societal norms. It contrasts the superficiality of product labels with the complexity of human experience, suggesting that people shop not just for physical items but to counteract the assumptions others have about them.
It was much fun, thank you, dear Friebdship 🕊️🙏🏻
Once again Cryptic your depth dives deep or maybe its just my obsessive meanderings that take me below the surface of what seems a clear lament about canned goods. I buy few canned goods with the exception of tuna but I know that the expiration dates are more for selling more goods than buyer be ware. Many last well beyond what is marked. Never the less this poem seems more to me about deeper social matters and those labels we place on people that often have long expiration dates. A lifetime label in many cases. And those with which we are labeled only expire when we are thrown away. Well done my friend
Life’s grocery store aisles indeed! A very sharp intuition there my friend 🕊️🙏🏻
Unfortunately the cost is high and seems to go up every day.
This is smart and subtle in the best way. I love how the everyday—labels, jars, small print—turns into something psychological and cutting. That line about hearing worse from people who smile really lands. Thoughtful, restrained, and sharp.
Many thanks, dear Thomas 🕊️🙏🏻
Good write A. There's a joke: 'I only came in - or went out - for a loaf of bread'. That's vague, as I've forgotten the rest of the joke. Doh! How's that summer going?
I’m blurry on the details as well but certainly recall that joke. The Summer has been adequately tolerable mostly this year🕊️🙏🏻
Powerful!! There’s a calm defiance here I really admire. The hermit’s attention to labels, the quiet resistance, the refusal to accept syruped certainty…all of it resolves beautifully in that final assertion of agency. they’d believe. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
To be given free rein of agency is at times all that is required. Thanks, Tittu🕊️🙏🏻
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