T.

This morning Jim Dandy the plumbing wonder
is coming to rescue me from nasty sludge build-up.
The heaps of dirty laundry have geologically evolved
into mountain ranges. Yesterday I went down
on my knees at the clawfoot bathtub
while my three young men delivered
stacks of soiled dishes to me. (The bathtub
does not share the clogged kitchen/basement
drain.) For what seemed an interminable time,
and was indeed perhaps an hour, I soaked
and scrubbed I-don't-know-how-many-days-worth
of plates, glasses, forks, knives, wooden spoons,
bowls, cookie sheets, saute pans -- as I washed
the boys dried and put away. Eighty-five degrees,
brain-hazy with the time-zone shift.

Later on we feasted on dead pig
and charred rolls. I seem to recall
some raspberries and cream, something crumbled.
There were potatoes involved.