salad dressings

the condiments, of which you have
dozens, are taking over
the shelves,
the bins, the places
where real food and drinks
should go.
how many ketchup bottles,
salad dressings, and oils
do I need. three mustards,
wasabi and mayonnaise.
hot sauce, two different kinds.
texas pete being one,
tabasco the other.
my son used to count them,
to mock me in the way he learned
so well.
thirty six, he'd say, shaking
his tangled head of hair.
it's time to purge. it's always
a good time to purge
for just about anything.