Sunday, April 18, 2010

Been there, done that, got the shirk

To Shirk

It helps if you can shrink,
fold yourself into the corner of the envelope,
maybe under the stamp. Or work

your wormy way under the jars
under the sink. You might slide
down the drain—things get lost there—

or climb the walls to hide
atop the blades of the fan.
Sometimes avoidance can be work.

The house is your burlap sack.
Don’t answer the phone. Let it shriek.
Let the birds, the cats, the kettle shriek.

And you? You laundry layabout,
you call in sick to work
for want of a shirt.

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