condense my brilliance
down to a single switch
because you were raised in
a world that taught you to
use me before you ever thought
to learn to understand me

There was a
lone light
hanging above
the butcher block
in the kitchen and
when the wind would
blow too hard
against the cedar shake shell,
the house would let out
an exasperated sigh—swinging
the bulb hanging beneath
the metal lampshade from
the cord where it sprouted
from the ceiling.

“20 ways to repurpose a light bulb”

It tells me I need to start with a good grip around the bulb,
give the solder point a twist and free the brass contact
from the wires leading to the filament. If I make it that far,
I have to break the insulator and pull the filament out
from there. Grabbing the fill tube, I need to empty out the bulb
and wipe it out to get it ready.

I guess I could channel my childhood and turn the bulb
into an aquarium—dropping a little bloodfin tetra in with
a sprig of sea-grass or even make one of three small hanging vases
to put on my wall in the kitchen. If I want to get crafty,
I have directions for a glass sculpture, a holiday ornament,
and seven different size centerpieces.
The real surprises on the list are the light bulb necklace
and the concrete molds for light bulb handles.

Here I am, 4 A.M. on a Saturday morning planted on the couch
peering at the screen through my Jim Bean bottle eyes
and all I see are ways to repurpose this broken bulb
for something new—something it should have never been—
and I wonder why I can’t just grab the oil and a wick and
turn it into what it always wanted to be.

Days begin
somewhere under
the height of
the sinking moon

and the tides that dance in and out
with it; I drift among
the crests—resting among them—
wondering how to catch a fish—
how to catch myself.

We all want to be someone
carved into stone—
assured in our identity
by the admirer taken enough to
etch our jawlines into eternity
from the heart
of a marble slab.

If you work on me as Michelangelo,
I will proudly stand as your David.