I know you think you’re to blame
but you didn’t ask for this name
in years to come, the monster is muted
you’re afraid of late nights, raised voices and fights but one day that all stops and it’s all left behind
They’ll tell you can’t, won’t give you a chance and in the end you prove them all wrong
but take caution with change and tighten those reigns because where you end up, that’s not where you belong
Yes, you exceed every expectation
but it’s at the cost of your own elation
much of your struggle is birthed from your creation
you become a bullet train that gets lost at the station
Every word they say, I know it crushes your day but you’ll figure it out in your own complex way
growing older you’ll learn, the ailments we earn come at us straight out of the blue
you’ll find yourself seething from all the halo cleaning with everything you go through
Above all, I must say
there are brighter days but darker ones are still to come
you have what it takes to reach those high stakes and still now, it has only begun
cleaning never ends
from one corner to the next
dust bunnies hide
spring light sifting, quiet, keen
lifting dust motes like old dreams
that rise, then drift away clean.
spring cleaning in house
son's room full of dust bunnies
winter left behind
My vacuum cleaner likes cookies
Sometimes it makes sounds like Wookies
It eats crayons too
And a lace from a tennis shoe
It hums along with this suction song
Eating up all in its path
It does a good job cleaning
But it can't do math
It caresses carpets and rugs
It invites in bugs
Cobwebs and corners
There's no hiding from this hoarder
There is nothing too tough
And my vacuum stays buff
By sucking at what it does for a living
So if you get the unction
And you see me just standing around
Plug me into the circuit
If you know how to work it
There are goldfish lying on the floor
Snippets and paper punches galore
Glitter strewn and clumps of play dough
And a foreign object....God only knows
So here's to my vacuum
And all you consume
Going from door to door
And room to room
We glide across the floor like Rogers and Astaire
We brush everybody's hair
And after you have done your best
I will put you away for another night’s rest
I tried with all my might not to cry as I wiped, but the tears helped clean up the floor
I looked all around at the dirt and the dust, only to wish he’d make more
But I just kept on cleaning til I got the feeling, my tears couldn’t help anymore
to dance to the Beatles
in our kitchen
this ugly spider
of a chandelier
hangs too low
for me to properly
leap in the air
to ‘Twist and Shout’
which demands
lots of wild, erratic
arm-flailing
and hopping about
my son says I look
ridiculous
when I dance
but he is eleven
and everything I do
is ridiculous to him
and beyond
embarrassing
but when I’m cleaning
the mountain of dishes
that accumulated
in half a day
I need a little incentive
and who leaves a hammer
on a kitchen counter
and walks away?
My husband
George Harrison:
you do it for me!
Within our warm homes, we humans continued to croak,
cursing the chill and calculations of snow.
Outside, imbedded in terra firma, the groundfolk,
like crocus awaited in their underground chateau.
They coped without complaint, chancing to poke
their heads out, earlier than we imagine or know.
We humans envy their energy, expecting the best
as winter dies out. Spring buds have a heyday
signalled by wavering winds warmed in the west.
Why not spring forth cleaning, throwing winter away -
closets, carpets, kitchen cabinets addressed, un-messed?
Flowers flourish as they foresee the coming of May
A cool morning bright skies
The sun blazes against the dew filled grass
The sun shimmering from every blade
Not a cloud in the sky
A beautiful spring day
In the lush welsh hills
Walking across the field
Ankles wet as the grass licks
The clean air filling lungs
Heavy oxygen thick and clearing
The mind can think clearly and logical
The quiet clean atmosphere
Stress lifting from the shoulders
Birds whistling in the background
A small river trickling
A peaceful setting
Where the mind and body can clear
But, Who's Cleaning Up?
I Like To Let
Insanity Loose,
Out To Play,
In Every Way.
***Tee! Heee!***
It Finds Joy In
Everything More
Than I Considered
Possible, Anyway.
***So, Yeah...***
Have At It,
Cave-Man,
Be Your Beast.
-Gray Squirrel
10-26-2025
cleaning day
sucks as life oft does ~
not my vac
was going to clean the kitchen
not just yet
it’s only three p.m.
was going to dye my hair
not in the mood yet
was going to clean up the dog hair
can’t find my mask
maybe tomorrow
was going to put toilet paper in the bathroom
had to use the cardboard damn it
was going to clean the sheets on my bed
dog jumped on them, so I could not strip it
was going to box some of my paintings
not sure where I put those boxes
dyed my hair
check
Cleaning the dust never ends,
There is always a girl in a wardrobe,
Who does not let go of your hand,
There is always a girl in a museum
who does not look at Matisse and Cézanne,
There is always a girl in a garden
Who steals apricots and oranges,
Cleaning the dust never ends,
There is always a cat on a pink chair
Who yawns seeing you happy,
There is always a blue cat in yellow sheets,
Who waits for someone to stroke him a hundred times,
A young cat in trouble who thinks
to the mango that you covet.
Cleaning the dust never ends,
A wild orchid asks for water and love,
A wild orchid is still waiting
May a poet change his life and color,
It is enough for Matisse to comb flowers
To remove the dust from the world, that
Grapes in the fruit basket.
big jobs exhaust me
today I cleaned one table
one tiny first step
the trunk of my car hides things I do not remember owning
sixteen Christmas presents that probably did not get delivered
because this is mid-May and Christmas is in December or January
three or four sweatshirts I diligently searched for in February
but did not find until today
notebook paper pages have been torn into bitty bits by mice
I am glad they enjoyed trunk of my car this winter
It is weird the rodents did not nestle in my scarves and hats
knitted in soft yarns in blues and whites
I sort out my car trunk for twenty-six and a half minutes
It seemed like two days of dull boring sorting
I resolve to sort the rest of it in the next year or so
All I needed was space for my suitcase.
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