What an incredible trio of opening poems. They really seem to answer the "how" and "what" and "why" of this work.

"Small Talk" is a shock to the system, straight out of the gate. The imagery of Guante slicing off his own finger and offering the experience of that moment as the very definition of what he does for a living is beautiful and harrowing. It's like the reader too is being asked to pay 10 dollars for the consumption of his labor, which is the consumption of his very self given for his work. Being primed this way, I can imagine that each next poem will also carry the weight of a sliced off finger.

"The Family Business" was also brutal. To me, it speaks to generational differences and that tightrope we walk of wanting more for ourselves even while giving grace to those who have found fulfillment in their circumstances. I felt incredibly emotional at him wishing Jackie the best, horses and castles, in the living he finds honesty, honor, and poetry in. I really keenly understand not wanting to strip security and self worth from those who settle for being "pawns" even while we ourselves know in our heart that following the rules won't allow us to kill the king, only sacrifice ourselves in his service. But at the same time, we only have that opportunity because of the generations before.

Finally, "Starfish." The other side of the coin to "The Family Business" looking not at the generation before but the generation after. Feeling like our job in raising and uplifting and protecting these kids is a task in the impossible and insurmountable. But we have to try.

"And my job, these days, is not to "make a difference." It is to fight, with everything I have, for a world in which I don't have to."