chain gang
green grow the lilacs
and there’s a bright golden haze on the meadow
of what consequence are these floral allusions
when the chain on the closet light snaps
it’s gonna take me weeks or months
it’s gonna take me a year at least
to fix the goddamned chain
i’ll have to go to the hardware store
and buy a replacement chain
which is actually an annoyingly packaged kit with screws
and inscrutable plastic bits.
I’ll have to savagely cut the hard plastic with scissors
then after all that standing on a chair, sighing,
arms raised and tiring
rotator cuffs or whatever aching with the effort
after all that
what will the reward be
you guessed it
a closet full of over-familiar shirts
bathed in the bland yellow light
of staple removers and scuffed baseboards
and numbing chit chat
look how lovely our clothes look
when glimpsed in shadow
I’m sure we can live without a closet light
for at least two years
let’s give it a try