Trianne Harabedian

What is Worthwhile?

There is a spot of red on my Achilles
where I must have pressed too hard
with my pink women’s razor, strip
of aloe to soothe sensitivity
but not enough to save me.
Don’t I always press too hard, ask too much
of the cheap things in life,
razors bought at a convenience store,
friends bought with college tuition,
a liberal arts scholarship with an emphasis
on words? Tell me everything
but people choose their phrases,
their careful supermarket avocados,
with precision and delicacy and the ones too hard
are stuffed in the back.
Still I push, press too hard
and who does it hurt?
Which over-washed towel
should I pick to bear the stain?