Chapter 26: poem I wrote after seeing that guy from project runway at the whole foods AGAIN

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter is a short poem written after the speaker spots a man she recognizes from the reality show Project Runway at a Whole Foods supermarket—and this isn’t the first time. The speaker begins by apologizing to an unnamed friend for not replying to a text about borrowing an adult-size tutu for a sketch comedy show. She explains that while riding the L train, she was distracted by a man sitting across from her. She was trying to figure out how she knew him, and eventually realized they had slept together. The poem ends with that blunt recognition: “it was from sex.” The setting—a Whole Foods sighting, a subway car—anchors a comic yet vulnerable reflection on modern social collisions.

Key Events

The speaker apologizes for failing to text a friend back about borrowing a tutu.
She recounts being on the L train, preoccupied with identifying a familiar face.
She realizes the man across from her is someone she knows from a sexual encounter.
The poem’s title frames the poem as a reaction to seeing the Project Runway guy at Whole Foods.

Character Development

The speaker (the “I” of the poem) comes across as distractible and honest about her own social lapses. She can prioritize a fuzzy memory over a friendly request, showing a mind prone to rumination. The voice is casual, self-deprecating, and unvarnished—she admits she didn’t text back not out of malice but out of absorption. The poem reveals a character comfortable with sharing moments of embarrassment or awkwardness. The other figures—the friend, the guy—are sketched very lightly, existing primarily to contrast the speaker’s inner search.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs Evidenced Here

Modern disconnection and reconnection: The text highlights how acquaintances from different contexts (sex, a reality show, a sketch-comedy friendship) can cross paths in mundane places, forcing a realignment of memory.
Memory and recognition: The speaker struggles to place a person, eventually landing on the most intimate reference point (“it was from sex”). This blunt resolution both undercuts romance and underscores how physical encounters can become identity markers in the city.
Guilt and nonchalance: The apology is casual (“I’m sorry I didn’t text you back”) yet the poem circles a moment that is anything but trivial. The tone mixes comic guilt with a shrugging acceptance of modern life’s blips.
Subway as liminal space: The L train is where the speaker is suspended between tasks (replying to a friend, remembering the guy), a classic Cohen setting that mixes movement with internal drift.
Whole Foods and Project Runway as brand-name markers: These references ground the poem in New York and pop culture, adding a layer of specific, recognizable awkwardness.

Why This Chapter Matters

This brief poem exemplifies Catherine Cohen’s signature blend of hyperspecific cultural references and raw personal confession. It shows how a single moment—spotting someone twice at a grocery store—can stir an entire internal investigation. The chapter also connects to the book’s larger themes of navigating young adulthood in New York, where past sexual encounters and casual friendships constantly intersect. Its brevity and punchy ending (“it was from sex”) make it a comic highlight that rewards close reading.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does the speaker apologize to her friend?
The speaker apologizes because she didn’t text back about borrowing an adult-size tutu for the friend’s sketch comedy show. Her mind was consumed with trying to recognize the guy on the train.
What does the speaker finally remember about the man on the subway?
She remembers that she knows him “from sex.” The revelation comes after a distracted attempt to place his face, underscoring both the intimacy and the disposability of the encounter.
How does the title frame the poem’s content?
The title introduces a specific premise—seeing the Project Runway guy at Whole Foods again—that the poem itself does not fully describe. Readers get the backstory of the L train memory, suggesting the Whole Foods sighting prompted the poem. The title sets up comic expectation and ties the poem to Cohen’s repeated theme of running into people from different chapters of life.