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