FIve Tales of Dry Cleaning

1.  Eastern Mysticism Dry Cleaners

You give
The cleaner takes
The cleaner gives
You take
Yin and yang
Swirling
in a perfectly balanced dance
of perpetuity.

2.  Deadliest Catch Dry Cleaners

You splash your catch
across the Formica slab
like opening trawling nets
hauled from the Bering Sea
the usual button downs
a couple of blue suits
and a black cocktail dress
All keepers
to be cleaned and dried
Shrink wrapped and
hoisted on hooks.

3.  Greek Tragedy Dry Cleaners

If Sisyphus were alive today
Zeus would exchange his rock
for dry cleaning.
Drop off the dry cleaning
Pick up the dry cleaning
Drop off the dry cleaning
Pick up the dry cleaning
...repeat for eternity.

4.  Crimes and Misdemeanors Dry Cleaning

You bring in this week's delinquents
like a bailiff at criminal court.
A dirty and rumbled bunch
some stained with blood
some with food
signs of their crimes
and life on the street.
The cleaner inspects
counts them off
sentence is passed.
On the day of release
shirts, suit and dress
stand at attention
returned and reformed
ready for polite society.

5.  Whimsical Cleaners

Wadded and balled, a disgraceful mess
six shirts, two suits and your wife's cocktail dress.

Counted and inspected for blood and for food
like clues to a crime that was undoubtedly rude.

They're scooped into sacks and carted away,
you need not worry, you'll see them someday.

On your return, round and round the carousel goes,
and where it stops will be all your clean clothes.

Reviews

[rutherford]

Thanks Joyce. The best part of WC is having an audience that reacts to our writing. When the Hollywood offers come rolling in, I'll suggest you have a part in a six tale--French Dry Cleaners with images of baquettes and such. Sacre Bleu!

[Joyce S. Greene]

This is one fantastic poem, Rutherford! Maybe they'd like to make a movie from this poem - they could call it "The Movie that Takes You to the Cleaners" - but don't they all? You have to take out a loan to pay to take your kids to see a film these days. Well, you've got me going tonight, and I just wanted to tell you how much I loved your poem. Muchos gracias. (Oh, oh, I'm supposed to be doing French!)

[OTownPete]

I never thought I would be reading a dry cleaning travelogue but through the reading of this my faith in these establishments just may have been bolstered. Your friend in words, Pete

[rutherford]

Glad it could surprise you. Hunting for poetry in the every day life tasks.

[Glen Yumang Manese]

i will never see dry cleaning in a different light after this innovative technique of a write about the facets of getting the job done...clearly a different type of read...thanks for the invite again...

[rutherford]

If this helps look at the everyday differently, then that's worth it all. Thanks for the review.

[Glen Yumang Manese]

YOU'RE WELCOME...

[Tam Warink]

Nice one. I've seen that deck of cards before; worked wonders for me too. Now let's try ice cream flavors and Impressionist painters. ^_^

[rutherford]

Tam--thanks for the tip of the hat. Good ideas adding to the bonfire

[Pryde Foltz]

Loved the ending. This one was cute. A slice of life with a witty kick.

[rutherford]

Thanks Pryde. Doing my part to keep dry cleaning cute :-)

[Rita L. Sev]

LOL! I personally like number 1 and 3 - a witty litany of dry cleaner experiences. And I have a dress to take there soon... :)

[rutherford]

Thanks Rita