A poem a day for 2013 - day 19 - Making home

There is therapy in separating laundry
A vibe has to be set
The smell of clean linen
Will lighten my mood
When it does not
I keep folding

Saturday morning is laundry time
What happened in the week
What's on your mind
Where do we go from here
What to say how when
It all comes out in the laundry

And just like that I am fifteen years old
Watching my grandmother
Bend over torn basket
With his boxers falling out
I wondered why it mattered so much

I prayed for this
This kind of normal

Towels and washcloths 
Sweaters and socks and denim
Underwear and T-shirts

This is how I super woman
I scrub corners
I find cobwebs

I remove our stains
I throw out what we can't use
I open windows

I paint pictures
Find frames and photographs
Grow plants and polish wood

I make new stains
Our stains

Nineteen steps down 
Silver key unlocks the laundry room
Detergent

Fold
Match socks 
Put clothes away

I discard
I make space
I keep memories
I hold secrets
I add softener

This is how I love