Oh, Costco

You are larger than life.

48 cans for the price of 1

Carts the size of Subarus filled to feed a family of 12

36 pairs of cotton underwear next to crates of crayons with 14,578 colors

Papier-mâché streamers long enough to build a city

and buckets of confetti alongside a 98" tv

Creatine supplements, protein shakes and barbell plates for an indestructible army

You never cease to amaze me, oh Costco

with your many mercantile goods for sale

With all the nation-states, cravings and fantasies you feed

it's all too easy to pass judgment

to arrive at, say conclusions of the profligate

Excess is no doubt a slippery lever in global crises

on which we all have a hand

Or is ignorance the greater evil?

What if excess leads to mutual aid?

What if all the crayons color me happy?

What if real financial savings is the clincher in a high-stakes game for low-income households?

What if plasma tv's and high-speed blenders are veritable symbols of success for immigrant parents who came from nothing?

What if speeches on conspicuous consumption and post-capitalism make us the dilettante?

Is there not some truth to the Zen koan, "If you find the Buddha, kill him."

So I thank you, oh Costco

for your bulk-sized reminders

of the risks of intellectual pretense and performative elitism

May we all be free of rigidity in our thinking

boutique or thrifty, Michelin-starred or hot dogs for $1.50