Spring Cleaning

An endless list of things that need doing

With less energy than it takes to get it done

I tackle it daily with purpose and plan

Only to tire or be distracted again

I check off my tasks one by one

At this rate it will be Autumn

Before I get them all done

You would think a small house

Wouldn’t take much to maintain

It’s utilitarian and really quite plain

The dust bunnies breed

When we’re not paying attention

And the cobwebs reproduce

With incredible speed

I sweep and I dust

Wash dishes and launder

My heart isn’t in it

My heart wants to wander

It’s time for the garden, for

flowers and dirt

For hands in the soil and

Seeds and more work

How can I choose outside

When the inside is calling?

How can I keep the house

Clean when I’m falling?

Into mulch into manure

and in choosing the seeds

When the house is in ruins

When the house is in need

The sun and the wind know

Which flowers to call

I give up on the cleaning

I give up on it all.

I will rotate my days

With the indoors and out

I will clean and I’ll sweep

I will scrub all the grout

Tomorrow I’ll spend time

With the garden and seeds

The day after I’ll contend

With the grass and the weeds.

The season is calling

The time becomes short

I’d best get to planting

I’d best clean out the hearth

Growing flowers in the desert

is a true act of faith

I make supplication to the Earth

The house cleaning can wait.

#NationalPoetryMonth

©VC-Threadgill Poem and Photo