Published in In Parentheses
I’ve been cleaning
my knives and forks
under the sink lately.
I do it one by one,
with only a naked
hand and a single
sponge and a zagging
maze of soap spread
across the sponge’s soft
side like butter sleezing
onto some stale bread.
Don’t you understand
that I am just scribbling
in the lines of ripped
notebook paper with
a pen that never runs
out of crimson ink?
Tomorrow,
I will unceremoniously
shove my feet
into a pair
of cowboy boots
and stomp
around
on my carpet, pretending
that it is Dallas
soil.
Jaden Fong 