POEM: Grocery Shopping: People & Trader Joes in October

In this intimate spoken word episode, Destin Judy transforms a routine grocery run into a lyrical excavation of heartbreak, betrayal, and the quiet process of reclaiming selfhood. Grocery Shopping: People & Trader Joe’s captures the aftermath of being cheated on—the kind of betrayal that stains the week, the sidewalk, and even the voice notes played back on her early morning walks.

Against the sensory overload of Trader Joe’s in October—pumpkin-flavored everything and cinnamon-scented aisles—Destin weaves an emotional landscape marked by overabundance: of options, of distractions, of people unaware. The poem reveals how, in a world so full, loneliness can still feel sharp and singular.

Yet within this overload, she finds moments of clarity. In navigating a world that offers everything but the one thing she needed most—truth—Destin walks toward self-possession with eyes open, voice clear, and a heart uncut.

A meditation on modern heartbreak, grief, and growth, this poem invites listeners to find their own footing on cracked sidewalks and in crowded checkout lines. Because sometimes healing starts with the simple act of showing up—for yourself.