Laundry

Sitting at the Laundromat, and these lines came to me. Some credit must go to Yeats' "Second Coming."

Tumbling and tumbling in the maddening spin:
The Laundry cannot hear the launderer.
I have tumbled through the darkened, heated spheres
Wondering that there is no laundering
For the soul---

For I have sinned, in my thoughts and words,
And become
     unclean.

I have spun and spun,
     until I must be sick
Vomit forth my colors,
     And die---
          soulless
               bleached.

Clink-clink
     go the coins
and the relentless humming
     begins anew.

From my vantage, I watch
And see the pointless tasks---
Folding, matching, separating---

Why?
We all get worn, dirty, in need of cleansing.
All gods dress themselves in believers
Only to wear them out
(favorites fastest).
All of us end up in the same rag-bin,
The same second-hand rack,
Sold to a thrift-shopping divinity.

(The cycle begins again.)

Between these bare faces
Of aluminum and clear plexiglass
I sit, awaiting the laundering of my soul.

What rough hands, at a second-hand rack
Await my soul, when at last my time has come?

Reviews

[Mr Marathon]

i want to tumble into these words too.

What much else can I say.

[Dave "Doc" Rogers]

Interesting comparisons. Wonders that modern laundromats are, who knew they would be sources of inpsiration for the poetic.

On the topic, in the world of mythos, history is repleat with deities that borrowed their followers for the moment. Once used to their ends, discarded. Only one traded places for those that would follow, and that prior to their following. Interesting. Good write.

Cheers!
Doc.

[Blackbirdsong]

I can't think of anything to suggest except to say please write more. I love your view of the word and how you describe it. Most would only think of laundry as something mundane, but you create not only a world, but a religious experience out of it. Wonderful.

[rachel D]

i got the religious overtones, at least some of them, i'm sure i missed a few but this write had great metaphors for what i think you were trying to convey. the fist stanza ia a tongue-twister that rolls right off my twisted tongue- it's FULL of so much in saying so little. the next stanza perfectly sets up the third, which is my favorite
" have spun and spun,
until I must be sick
Vomit forth my colors,
And die---
soulless
bleached."
i read this 3 times the first way through. it makes my stomache churn.
"thrift shop divinity" another great line
as far as suggestions go, i'm not quite sure if i have any. i think i remember readin something in your bio or maybe it was a story.....hmmm, lemme go check on that before i go any further with my next thought.
well written victoria
-r-

[PianoandPage]

All gods dress themselves in believers
Only to wear them out
(favorites fastest).


um. this blew me away. the concept of our life cycles, we think we choose our religions but really our gods choose as they will.

this is probaly one of the most thought provoking and well written poems i have had the pleasure of reading for awhile. thank you!

[Pema Dorje]

this is a good use of metphor, with the tumbling hot dryer, rotating the 'sins' over and over ... the mental turmoil of deep unsettled impressions, and if they tumble and tumble, maybe we are clean at the end ...

[Yvonne Heidt]

Geez - this is intense. You always surprise me, when I hit your writing - I NEVER know "what" I'm going to get. This is excellent, on many levels. 100%

[Althea Tremaine]

Wow. I wish I could offer a suggestion, but I feel this is perfect. I generally don't care much for religion, but this poem offers it in such a perspective that it drew me in completely. I really enjoyed this piece. Great job.

[Stacy A. Foster]

I wish I could jump into a spin cycle to cleanse my soul. Baptism? Not needed... just some gentle cleansing. If it were only that easy. But often, we judge ourselves too harshly and end up in a dark depression, clunking around in an endless cycle while it feels like our souls were sold to a thrift store.

I really like this. Amazing how one can be inspired...

I like the analogy in this. Funny how white clothes are often separated from the other colors isn't it? Perhaps I read too deeply. ;) If there was only a way to wash them, dry them, and match them without thinking about it.

Cheers for this,
Stacy ;)

[Darkwaters]

Okay, I love this for multiple reasons. One, I hate doing laundry or rather I hate planning to do laundry but while I'm doing this endless, never ending fruitless task, I find a certain Zen in it. Then I wonder why it so bothersome for me, why I put it off so much when I get that Zen feeling? Two, the religious overtones (I'm not religious but I am spiritual) is a great comparison between how feel about laundry before and after. I don't look forward to cleansing my soul but afterward after I've cleaned out the funk and gunk clogging my spiritual inner workings I wonder why I put it off because I feel so much better.

I love it!