The Ritual of Offering

by Nick Rossi

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I’ve made talismans of all my time-
cards stacked neatly as aches
in the arches of my feet and back,
stretching an hour into two
for a couple more dollars.

work hard hands closed
head down dirty mouth
mouth closed head hard
hands dirty work down
hard work pays off
hard work pays off
hard work pays
hard
work pays

I know no one is free
that’s made to make a meal
of their flesh or build a cage
around themselves, thinking
there’s honor in the sacrificial
sweat, that thirst can be quenched
with salt and stale beer
but even now I wait to clock in
for another second shift, found
another bar of bone, pick skin,
whet my teeth and lips.

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Nick Rossi is a co-founder / editor / designer at Sobotka Lit Mag / Ursus Americanus Press / No Rest Press. He has two chapbooks: Remind (Match Books, 2018) and Young Professional (No Rest Press, 2019). His work has recently appeared in or is forthcoming from Funny Looking Dog Quarterly, Columbia Poetry Review, giallo, DRYLAND, and elsewhere. He lives and works in Chicago, IL.