Sixth Day of National Poetry Month – Swept Away
Sweeping Before Trip
Here’s a poem that I originally wrote for the Sixth Day of National Poetry Month (April 2010), a month in which I write a draft poem a day. This one was about the urge to clean before taking a trip. ( I am linking it now in December 2011 to Bluebell books’ prompt about Cinderella taking a tea break. )
Swept Away
Sometimes you just have to clean.
Yes, you have a plane to catch.
But you notice, even as you should be zipping up
your carry-on, specks–whole clumps–dust
that you tell yourself you just can’t bear
to come back to–but that you really just can’t bear
to leave behind.
In the moment of departure, in the grip
of tearing yourself away,
the familiar web-swathed corners call out to you;
all those crumbs below the table, their genealogies
so readily traceable; that rug that catches
every single thing; all of it holds on,
until the act of sweeping gently rocks you
across worn paths, cradles
you in your own low arc, scrapes
the home plate clean and, somehow,
sets you free.
Tags: bluebellbooks, crumbs with a traceable genealogy, Karin Gustafson poetry, manicddaily, ManicDDaily pencil drawing (of broom and plane), poem about cleaning before a trip, Sixth Day of National Poetry Month
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ManicDDaily 
December 20, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Must be a woman thing. I’m pretty sure I’ve never encountered that situation! Nice write, MDD!
December 20, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Ha. (Only I do know men that get kind of crazed before going on a trip! Sometimes even sweeping, otherwise paying bills. I do that too.) K.
December 20, 2011 at 6:59 pm
so true, so well done….
your words shine like a Sun.
December 20, 2011 at 7:50 pm
LOL! Can we say OCD maybe? ha-ha, my husband finds my little OCD quirks amusing, but then again, he’s a man after all. Great job, loved it. Blessings and Merry Christmas, Terri
December 20, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Thank, K.
December 21, 2011 at 8:51 am
I remember NOT cleaning up once before a flight and came home to a new form of life growing on my counter. It was the Subway sub I forgot.
Happy Holidays!
Cheers,
Mark
December 21, 2011 at 9:00 am
Ha! Happy Holidays to you as well! (And peace to, more or less, all life on Earth!)
December 21, 2011 at 7:49 pm
a very special and powerful piece.
December 22, 2011 at 5:46 am
Shucks, makes me want to go and clean!
great write, nice arrangement of lines.
December 22, 2011 at 11:12 pm
every action has a consequence,
you are sharp in taking us to a place where we are made to think before act.
cheers.
December 23, 2011 at 4:33 pm
So true! My son laughs at me, because every time he comes over I’ve found something else that needs to be cleaned. I can’t leave the house or go to bed unless everything is clean, especially my kitchen. Hahaha, now I think I’ll go bake and clean up again. Thanks so much for sharing this.
Merry Christmas!
Elizena R. Arellano: http://elizena-lovingmycreator.blogspot.com/
December 27, 2011 at 9:49 pm
greeting from Malaysia =)