Making My Bed

Need a sheet
Natural fibers
This time
Gonna go for broke –
Gonna get a higghhh thread count
A thousand 20!
True, Upland cotton warp
and weave could suffice –
Strong, self assured against bare skin
Yet, over time it still frays and
breaks down.
Though new, I’ll wash it
whiter-than-white
I could go with Tide,
but Tide can be harsh –
my mom told me
it reddened my skin when I was a child,
although, does that really matter?
Or, maybe use
Arm and Hammer
Shaking a defiant fist.
Then there’s Gain Soothing -Sensations-
Lavender -Lilac -Moment
A smell that overtakes
deep breath intake.
I’ll wash it in permanent press
double rinse –
Then hang it in the sun
just long enough to dry bright,
left too long it can start to rot.
With firm hands
I’ll twist it
turn turn turn it
shape it
straighten it
smooth it
fold it
tuck it tightly
into place.
There was a saying
during the Cold War –
In the time
They fire
Nuclear Bombs
At us
And we fire
Nuclear Bombs
At them
Go lie on the ground –
Wrap yourself
in a sheet
Because they’ll be no
One left to bury you.
Now,
I am prepared.

 

“Crumbling Kingdom” © DL Polonsky

 

Melissa Silva is a Nurse and a poet. She has written short stories, performed storytelling for adults, and studied oral traditions. She lives in Arlington, Massachusetts.

DL Polonsky is a Boston area artist, writer, and filmmaker. His caricatures have appeared in The Boston Herald and His written work includes the children’s book The Letter Bandits from T.B.W. Books.