happy nails

as you sit
in the baby blue
massage chair,
with your bare
feet soaking in a
tumble of warm
pink water, you
listen
to the woman
speaking in a strange
language
to others who
are working too.
you watch as she
pulls on her
mask
and takes your
foot into her
hand pressing it
against
the foot rest on
a white towel.
methodically she cuts
and sands,
rubs and pulls
at your toes
and feet.
now the other
she says in English,
and you obey
like a small
child, happy
to be cared for.