Failed Sales Pitch

The best knife on the market

Eight inches of blade

that can effortlessly

slice a tomato

or an asphalt shingle

or a vein

It is the knife you’ll think of

every time you leave them alone,

every time you go to work,

hoping their depression,

their misery,

can hold out

until you return

It is the knife you’ll hide

hoping they won’t find it,

hoping they won’t think of

all the other alternatives

impossible to hide

The way a plate could shatter

into ceramic daggers

The way broken glass

could tear through skin

The way a tool for carpentry

could quickly become

a tool for self-destruction

But your mind always

returns to the knife

The easy-to-grip handle

you continually imagine

in their hands

The corrosion-resistant,

stainless steel you

continually imagine stained

You can have the blade sharpened for free,

in case the wounds

weren’t yet deep enough

The “forever guarantee”

is for your knife,

not your child

Written August 30, 2021