Mark Danowsky
Market Waste

Clerks pass by my sampling station

One wheels a grey trashcan filled to the brim
with cherry tomatoes

Another grey can holds scooped cantaloupe rinds
weighed down with leafy greens

My father couldn’t do this job; he’d get himself fired
for asking too many questions, expressing his horror

No one complains

If asked ‘How’s it going?’ there are two answers:
‘It’s going’ & ‘Living the dream’

The only mask you have to wear is the one they pay you to