he replaced the washer,
the refrigerator too
he liked new appliances; they
reminded him of her
especially when he opened the freezer and found
not a pint of her Haagen-Dazs Vanilla
the new washer contained old ghosts as well
for he blasphemed her by washing on hot
a prohibition when she was still here, for fear
of shirts shrinking, she always claimed
he wondered what words of hers would haunt him
when he gutted the wall for a new oven
maybe it would just be the longing for the smell
of cookies baking (chocolate chip)
the ones she prepared for the grandsons, the day
she took a "quick nap" and never woke up
Dec 6, 2016
Dec 6, 2016 at 9:13 PM UTC
he replaced the washer,
the refrigerator too
he liked new appliances; they
reminded him of her
especially when he opened the freezer and found
not a pint of her Haagen-Dazs Vanilla
the new washer contained old ghosts as well
for he blasphemed her by washing on hot
a prohibition when she was still here, for fear
of shirts shrinking, she always claimed
he wondered what words of hers would haunt him
when he gutted the wall for a new oven
maybe it would just be the longing for the smell
of cookies baking (chocolate chip)
the ones she prepared for the grandsons, the day
she took a "quick nap" and never woke up
Request permission to use this poem