(chaos)

Oue house
is in chaos.
Everything that
I have cleaned
out from the
cupboards and drawers,
piled visibly
on tables, counters.
Clustering together
behind the bedroom
door. It’s always
this way.
And hence,
the expression
let sleeping dogs
lie. It will take
weeks before I am done.
The first swipe
comes easy,
that decision
to eliminate
it from my life.
But then it
must be gathered up
in boxes or bags,
driven somewhere
about town.
I always hope
that I will
learn & remember
before bringing
it in, how hard
it is to get rid
of the stuff.
That in an instant
it has no worth,
something that
took a half hour
of labor to buy,
or one or two.
I like my dollar
thrift store shirt,
the only pressure
when it gets stained
just loss of something
I love.
And I am
used to that.

4/27/99