Beyond Bed & Bath

Like blankets

in the heat of summer,

civilization is something

I want to throw off

(oppressive)

and the undersheet

of society too,

(restrictive)

but its military corners

trap my thrashing feet inside,

and the towering four-posters menace

. . .

flaunting their flounces

(flounces replaced every April)

and dare me to denude their frame

Sweating and claustrophobic,

I stare at the oversize

pillows

(for show)

that escaped to useless piles

on my dresser

–the stain-free social media sham,

which looked better online, frankly–

–the “still good on one side” car cushion

–the bucks in bank bolster that everyone has, and

the does-the-job pillow that looks cushier than it is

. . .

along with the pain-in-the-neck pad that proved

too hard but nope, sorry, no take-backsies,

and wonder why I even keep those pillows anyway

–arranging them daily with painstaking precision

and tossing them far less precisely to the side each evening–

. . .

since I could use the space

. . .

the space that escapes me,

(unadulterated space)

trapped as I am

. . .

by bedclothes.