After tossing the sheets in a plastic blue Ikea bag,
I clear the floor of clutter: folding chair, rotating fan,
guitar and stand, half-read paperback,
placed on the bed.
Throwing the bag around my shoulder,
I grab detergent and the sack of dirty clothes
off the floor below the hanging dresser
in the corner nook.
Lumbering up the stairs in to my slip ons,
I place the sack on the top step and ease
open the door, placing the clothes beyond the threshold
and stepping beside them to nudge the door back.
Hugging the sack of clothes,
I waddle past the jungle gym and church,
turning right on St. Clair and stopping at Variety
to make change and buy smokes.
A few fronts down, the laundromat is busy.
A kid is playing a game on his phone,
his mom is sitting with her feet on a table
looking dour, a young woman is reading
in the corner.
I fill up two machines and walk back
with a cigarette, to broom then mop
then bathe.
I clear the floor of clutter: folding chair, rotating fan,
guitar and stand, half-read paperback,
placed on the bed.
Throwing the bag around my shoulder,
I grab detergent and the sack of dirty clothes
off the floor below the hanging dresser
in the corner nook.
Lumbering up the stairs in to my slip ons,
I place the sack on the top step and ease
open the door, placing the clothes beyond the threshold
and stepping beside them to nudge the door back.
Hugging the sack of clothes,
I waddle past the jungle gym and church,
turning right on St. Clair and stopping at Variety
to make change and buy smokes.
A few fronts down, the laundromat is busy.
A kid is playing a game on his phone,
his mom is sitting with her feet on a table
looking dour, a young woman is reading
in the corner.
I fill up two machines and walk back
with a cigarette, to broom then mop
then bathe.