their dryer keeps breaking down
her husband does not understand
neither do the appliance people
they have provided three free service calls
it is as if she wants to go to the laundromat
where are you going now? Her husband asks.
Laundromat, she says with a long-disappointed sigh.
He decides to follow her this time.
When he sees the cushy recliner, he understands.
If you stop breaking the dryer, can I buy you that chair?
She nods
ashamed of her forbidden pleasure
one she was afraid to admit to her husband.
He buys the recliner from the laundromat owner on the spot.
Cheaper than a new dryer.
And he was afraid she would dismantle the washer next.
Scent of dryer vent
On the outside of the house
Is super pleasant.
pennies
dance
in the dryer
Yes, we had a washer, but no dryer yet
So we hung our clothes out on the line to dry
with those old wooden clothes pins, you know
and after dinner we retired to the balcony
to sit and sip tea, often with neighbors
who dropped by to catch up on the local gossip...
Those nights seemed to go on and on, at least
until my bedtime, 9:30 p.m. -- so unfair! -- at
which point the 'adult talk' commenced, an
occasional burst of laughter punctuating the air...
Seems nobody's got time for each other on
our old block these days -- the balconies sure are
empty at night -- or else perhaps folks just got
so busy with their new-fangled dryers, flat-screen
TVs, smartphones and whatnot
When you're feeling chilled
I'll bring you a warm blanket
When one's not enough
I'll have more in the dryer
So you will never be cold
Grocery shopping is
the most boring
task ever because
it drags on
into eternity becoming
the eternal conscious
Hell I was
raised to believe
in, but I
would be born
again worshiping Jesus
Christ with all
the other "good"
bible thumping Christs
whose name may
not be "Christian"
unlike mine, which
is funny because
most of the
time I am
a disgrace to
my name by
telling my siblings
to shut up
and do what
I tell them,
all the while
disguising my commands
as orders from
my parents who
took us grocery
shopping all day
for laundry detergent
and dryer sheets.
I was doing the laundry one day
the dryer wobbled to and fro,
it was freaking out bad
I knew it had to go.
I leaned on one corner
and nearly landed on the floor,
one of the wheels were missing
what would somebody, do that for?
The wobbly dryer was a trap
someone could get hurt,
I threw the dryer outside
it landed hard in the dirt.
Copyright © Cynthia Jones
Oct.19/2006
The wobbly dryer part of this poem is true, but not the part about me throwing it out.
it has to be set
after being wet
so you must get
its your hair fine one nair
and go to the store
it be a good buyer
get a
HAIR DRYER
in wide
moves side
by side
its hot and stop
button at the top
mind run
you can put ton
cloths get done
it was my desire
to have a
CLOTH DRYER
Didn't work
Funny quirk
A shame
Itself blame
Almost go berserk!
Since my youngest daughter was a little girl
Her spot to hide was in the dryer
I keep telling her
Your gonna catch on fire!
Her, and her five siblings
Playing hide-n-seek
All through the house
Ten little feet would sneak
One in the shower
Another in a toy box
Two fighting for the same place
And one in the closet that locks
But Tiffany, where is she
Where could she be
Just laying in the dryer
No one could see
She's 16 now
What a sight to see
She just got in the dryer again
Yelling, "mom, look at me!"
Going through the house
gathering up the spent ones.
Sorting into piles, all alike,
they go in one at a time.
Washed and rinsed clean.
Then dried and fluffed
until baby bum soft.
What I want to know...
Is why does...
The dryer eat the socks?
A monster’s in my dryer
A monster took my clothes
What exactly happened to them
Heaven’s only knows.
Have you met this monster before?
The monster that eats my socks?
I know he eats and listens
But I’m not so sure he talks.
The monster that’s in my dryer
Tries to eat my T- shirts too
Something’s eating them that’s for sure
It sounds like something a monster would do.
He eats up all the evidence
That guilty rascal him
I don’t understand when he eats my clothes
Where in the world does he stuff them.
If this monster in my lint department shows up,
I will trap him and throw him away.
And if he ever shows up in yours,
Please do the same for me, OK?
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