I straighten my hair and pluck my brows

Make sure the shirt fits just right

At the stoplight I eat my breakfast

My heart races going through the door

I’m so jittery, hope I can digest this

Do I look okay

Co-workers greet me as I walk in

I hear them whisper about how I’m too thin

I push my pounding heart down my throat

Get to my office and take off my coat

Check my face in the phone mirror

Coming down the hall I hear her

My co-worker

She says, “Don’t screw up or else you’ll get fired,”

She’s so mean

She says I look tired

As her eyes scrutinize me

The slander begins: “You’re not that pretty”

I carry on about my day

Shoulders up at my ears

The more customers I see

The more I want to disappear

My shoulders round forward as the day proceeds

I talk to myself all day

But it turns out no one’s been listening

My boss emailed me back

Said she forgot about our meeting and would have to reschedule

The consultant didn’t read my notes

I finally get home at the end of the day

Take off my coat

Tussle my hair that’s frizzy now

I realize there was a stain on my blouse

I stand in front of the long mirror in my house

My co-worker followed me here

When everyone else disappeared

She says,

“No one else even saw your stain

And your hair has actually been frizzy all day

The boss lady never thinks about you

And your customers don’t listen

Remember: they were all on their phones when you saw them

Those executives in the break room: they were worried about their schedules

For the busiest-appearing person rules”

I throw up my hair

Let my shoulders down

My Golden retriever greets me

A simple truth I’ve found

He tells me and my co-worker, “settle down,

It’s not about you

And on one cares

But I love you”

I shew my co-worker out the door for the night

She might be back in the morning

Realizing I’m alright

No need to try to be an overachiever

No need to spruce up, cover up, fit in

I have the affection of a Golden retriever