a good word for supermarkets

A good word for Supermarkets

There were many grocers’, in my locality, in
the late fifties - when I was a boy- I disliked
them all. Hand rubbing, oily, shopkeepers had
dirty fingernails, cut slices of salami, cheese &
ham, not above resting a finger on the weight.
But we needed them, gave us credit when we
couldn’t pay, and adding a few cents to cost.

The butcher was a swine, lewd eyes and slimy
smile, mother said that some women sold
themselves, to him, for a pound of pork chops;
she never explained what that entailed, guessed
they had to do his washing and shine his shoes.
It was said, if dogs or cats came near his shop
they ended up as mince meat

Time got better there was work for all, factories
hummed with human activities, and one day
a supermarket opened in the centre of the town.
An Aladdin’s cave, we’re there every Saturday-
it had a café as well- our weekly treat. Small
shops s sank into despair, faded away, no one
sent them flowers; and that was a shame.