Laundromat: July 10, 9:47 AM
I’m in the
laundromat
because my dryer broke
and this radio is too loud
and every song sounds insincere –
finally Annie Lennox and
the Eurythmics are singing
Talk to Me.
I wonder when I’ll ever
get around to reading
Ulysses.
The radiator is painted
an almost indescribable
shade of turquoise.
Lively but dead serious –
mechanical.
The top of each rib protrudes
thin, flat and sharp.
I can imagine these edges
pressing into my face
after they arrest me in the
grand sweep.
Harnesses and 19th century
contraptions hoisting the radiator
above prisoners strapped to beds.
Thirty full seconds for each
inmate.
What if they decide to heat them?
Loud sirens nearby.
A city wind blowing
through the open door.
A guy reading a
book asks me
if I smell
cigarette smoke.
“No.”