a polo
means
sacrifice
so I shave
my patch
of beard
small hairs over
splotchy white
sink
every day the
eggstained
jeans
I will take
this meager
pay
to bring
garbage
to a dumpster
and wash
a stranger’s
dish
in a brown
apron
that is far
enough
outside
of me
to make me
believe
this is not
me
(originally published in Northampton Poetry Review, Spring 2019)