May it Never have an Asterisk
by Caroline Johnson
For my 8th grade WA state history project, I learned that an asterisk on a Costco sign means that the item will leave soon. A few months after my project, I was eating the salsa and said to my mom, “May it never have an asterisk.” I jokingly said it could be a poem. I wrote multiple stanzas; it was the first poem I ever wrote and the only one I've written for fun. The next year, the asterisk actually arrived, and I wrote the last two stanzas. Here we are four years later, and it has not returned since.
Costco loves to taunt me and tell me when things leave
I buy all their stock of it and then I start to grieve
They do attempt to help us and add a little star
Asterisk is what it’s called, and it has gone too far
My mom came home from Costco with a tub so green and nice
We keep on buying more of it, not noticing the price
Avocado salsa is the name of this creation
Go and let the word of it start spreading through the nation
To eat this snack correctly you must have it with some chips
Your mouth will start to water when you put it to your lips
Both the chips and salsa are made for the same store
Costco is the place we like to go and get some more
An awful little star is what brought us here today
All because I’d like it to go nicely on its way
Oh, my precious salsa, the star you’d dread to see
So, my little asterisk, go on your way and flee
To protect it from the asterisk, I’ll save it with my life
You never know when you’ll really need it in your strife
May it never have an asterisk, I know this much is true
My dear avocado salsa, I will forever love you
I return one year later after fearing it would go
A tragic asterisk appeared and crushed my hopes so low
More than I could count we brought home on its last day Not even knowing when it would return along this way
Since it’s only for the summer, we have to say goodbye
After those few short months, I actually might cry
Oh, avocado salsa, I consider you my dear
So just now I wait until it’s early next year