The idea for this started somewhat playfully - who would think to write a poem about a manicurist? - but after rereading it, I think it gets a little dark in those first few stanzas!  I'm definitely gonna edit this a little more (I'm mainly posting it now to see if anyone will respond with their thoughts on things before I make any changes).  I think this is the first poem I experimented using dialogue in, which came from reading some Langston Hughes, and this one poem by William Carlos Williams that I can't remember the name of, but it involves a sick baby and the inflection of the dialogue makes the last line almost unbearably tragic.  I like the dialogue in the last stanza, but I'm a little iffy about the other instances it's used in.  The main thing I wanna do in editing is cut down the disparity between the last stanza and the rest of the poem - I realized just now that only in the last stanza does the Manicurist get a personality and become a character, whereas before he's just this shadowy, almost menacing figure.  By the last stanza I realized I wanted to get the communal aspect of getting a manicure, but I didn't go back and add that tone to the rest of the poem, so it jumps from a really creepy exploration of time and decay to this wise manicurist.  As the directors say, I'll fix it in post.

As usual, please leave criticisms!  When they come (on those rare days) they really are helpful.  Help a young poet become the next Walt Whitman by letting him know your thoughts on his poetry.  Feel free to tear it apart, massacre it, beat it with a shovel - it'll only get stronger, trust me.  See you again tomorrow with another poem!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Manicurist
by Matthew Stalbaum

he will continue cutting, he will continue
whittling down their nails, polishing
& coloring to hide the smoker's
yellow crusting at the edges, smoothing out
the wrinkles of tired joints with the pad
of a thumb, to hide their work & toiling
--mmm, those look real pretty now!

they will continue coming back, their nails
& their wrinkles & the yellow stain now covering
the polish again--I tried quitting
but it doesn't hurt anyone--weekly, monthly
they will continue coming back

and he will continue cutting, continue

talking, about what their dreams really mean
(not the truth of all things, but a truth
for sure), about the flame in their eyes
they never bothered to see, the lightning of touch,
and he will talk on about certain eternal things
as they wish to god their nails wouldn't stain
so easily--the staining might as well
never come off!