The Uses of Things

When the stove clock hands sprawl
Wide with helpless want

The body is a wish.

When the light skins need along
The sink pipe's length

The body is a wish.

When the handles of the cupboard are
The parts of musn't touch

The body is a wish.

When the linoleum diagrams
The egg inside the egg

The body is the vehicle of a wish.

Copyright © 2009 Liz Waldner All rights reserved
from Trust
Cleveland State University Poetry Center
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission