Pull back one layer, thin and bright red,
vibrant. Be left with a stiffer, pale coat.
Dig your nails into that one, it’s a little harder to get off
isn’t it?
With the right technique, it will still come quick and easy:
a hard thing to master at the calmest times.
Eyes start to water in the process—
your first instinct, protecting, is to hold it far away,
turn your face away. It will not control you:
grab at your eyes and make you so bare.
My mom has these goggles she wears
while cutting them: they were my brother’s,
part of a Bob the Builder play set:
blue, construction goggles.
She keeps them in the basket alongside the onions.
To make that delicious dinner, finish the task
boiling on the stove: keep peeling,
control the layers.