[question asked by Heather Dooley]

Dust along the baseboards
mats like a ribbon of silk that survived a fire.
Pictures hanging crooked like condemned men:
let them lean in their lazy angles.
Mud on your shoes, spite
from a man on the evening news,
your cake damp in its aluminum coffin.
Dogs bark, the postman comes.
Let the sad eye blink.
Let the untied shoelace drag.
Be untroubled by any small thing.
Take no immediate action.

Published September 1st, 2022