On Consideration

I don’t know if it works out
The way most people want.
It’s very difficult, for example,
To watch someone else extract
A broken wine glass from the garbage
Disposal. And yet it’s oddly satisfying
To dig out those same shards yourself.
One by one, tenderly, until a finger’s
Pricked. As a method of penitence,
It rarely soothes. As a display of
Affection, it’s nearly foolproof.