“Before shaking hands with a prospective customer, he would conceal a glob in his palm. The victim would pull his hand back in horror, but then discover, as he wiped it off, that he could see clean skin, sometimes for the first time in years.” -David Owen, “Hands Across America”, The New Yorker, 3/4/13
1.
hard work and violence
have the same effects on hands.
crackled callus. rough knuckles.
skin sacrifice. wrought honor.
hard-squeeze handshake.
dukes up. settle this.
heavy bag. taped up.
hit the dirt. beneath nails.
blue 42. glory days.
stick shift. pay at the pump.
brown baggin’. nicotine sticky.
sandpaper pages. blister every day
i stay dove. i wash
clean every day.
i steer clear of grizzle.
i kid gloves. i purell, not that cheap shit.
i devil’s playthings. i proud
of softness. i papercut flinch.
i pay the mechanic
to get his hands dirty cuz I don’t know how.
i Curly from Of Mice And Men.
i literary reference. i try
not to look down on.
handyman reads Sartre too. we can chat about it
during cigarette breaks. i don’t smoke cigarettes.
i chapped cuticles. i dislike physical
discomfort. i fear arthritis
when i’m older, but not as much as dementia.
i’m thankful for brain making a living.
i wash clean every day.
–Background Art by Barbara Florczyk