They’re about us who have to sell,
sell even in our sleep,
produce minute to next minute,
now, tomorrow and the next day,
because without us there would be
no revenue stream,
no commissions, no bonuses, no perqs,
no contests where we could be
No. 1 in the whole world;
about us who can’t sit still
without a beer and a ball game;
about our work ethic, our numbers,
if we’re easy to look at, our motivation,
are we team players, what model car,
how do we vote, are we churchgoers,
where do we live, can we relocate,
the little lady, can she entertain,
our values, can we play golf
or tennis or talk sports?;
about a seasoned wholesale rep
taking turns in the next hotel room
honking hedonism until four in the morning
with two hot shots she met in the bar;
about a cigar smoker down the hall
mixing his sour smell with the sharp stink
of unventilated bathrooms and cologne;
about the wives we love, our boys and girls,
a thousand miles away in a suburb
where we are weekend soccer coaches;
about manhattans with an imaginary pal,
a stack of trade journals,
a lousy salad and cardboard fish;
long walks past overstuffed garbage cans
in the greatest city in the whole world;
another crossword puzzle,
another late night show,
two conventioneers next door
with a drunken model from a hospitality suite;
about how we feel abandoned, how our tears
sabotage us, yet we cannot weep,
our eyes must blaze, we must be amazing,
shake hands with a client and really mean it,
high step out of elevators with the zest
of a running back on the two yard line,
always be gracious and pick up the check,
all for a lightning bolt on a year end graph,
a few free trips to beachfront resorts
with workshops and soul sessions;
about closings that will let us cash out
before our life insurance does;
about waking early morning
in another city, another hotel room,
wondering as we brush our teeth
if any part of us is not for sale,
if we can sleep away from home
without regrets about what slides down
with our hair into a nasty bathtub drain;
whether we can wake unashamed;
whether we can honestly show our children
how best to die