The Reason

She struggles with two heavy baskets

and you can see puzzled faces -

why hasn't she got a trolley?

- though this is a cheap supermarket,

so some have the dearly bought wisdom

to know why she hasn't.



A clue in the baskets - basic bread.

Low-price looroll. Cheap chips.

10% off teabags. And the horrible,

miserable fifty p 'treat'

to make it bearable for another

two weeks. Two weeks. Two weeks.



It's giro day but she paid a fuel bill

and so struggles with two heavy baskets

cutting her palms and straining her shoulders

because she has no pound for the trolley

© Cathy Bryant

Poorest families left in the cold by energy suppliers
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Award-winning Cathy co-edits the annual anthology 'Best of Manchester Poets', and her collection 'Contains Strong Language and Scenes of a Sexual Nature' was published by Puppywolf in 2010.