After Shopping

The groceries are in their places:
Refrigerator, pantry jammed
With cans, bottles, packages, cartons of —
But it wasn’t the shopping
So much as getting there:
We stopped in at the house to
Check mail and retrieve an extra
Propane tank from the garage:
The door jammed, and for two
Hours of respooling, lifting,
Figuring, co-operating, solving,
Exerting beyond limits, we detoured
Through hope to desperation
And back again until suddenly
Success. The rest was just
The usual acquisition of food
And fuel, messages and waiting.
Of it all, the part that made me
Happiest was the two of us working
Together like a fine machine.
I loved that part. Really.