Hello My Name Is

I reached for a receipt in my pocket

and pulled out a ghost instead.

A piece of plastic with a safety pin

and a name I no longer dread.

The laminate is peeling at the edges,

and they spelled the middle part wrong.

I was a 'Customer Service Associate'

for a week that felt a year long.

I remember the heat of that vest,

the way the air felt like cardboard.

I’m still wearing a mask for the world,

just one I can better afford.