(After Wallace Stevens)

I.
The satisfaction
of clearing out the lint trap.

II.
After the affair, his wife slept in the basement
near the laundry, awaking
each morning at three
to wash whatever she could find,
even the things that were clean.

III.
Many women
have spent many lifetimes
ironing pajamas
ironing sheets.

IV.
There was a stranger,
she took off all her clothes
needing the task to be completed
for just one moment.
I saw her once,
in a mirror.

V.
Perhaps bleach can teach forgiveness.

VI.
In the laundry room of our childhood,
our mother is still weeping,
our father is still absent.

VII.
Oh women of the world,
why do you imagine that the laundry can be done?
Do you not see the soiled garments
heaping themselves endlessly into baskets?

VIII.
Even at a nudist colony
there would still be soiled towels,
too many socks to match.

IX.
I do not know which to prefer,
The sound of the dryer buzzer
or the silence after.

X.
Their marriage had been over
for years when he dreamt of her
ascending the staircase
with a full basket of fresh laundry.
When he spoke of this dream,
she felt his longing.

XI.
It was laundry day
everyday, all week.
The washer was running
and would keep running.