spin

   

i'm downstairs in the laundry room
waiting for the washer to stop

so i can put my darks in the dryer and
start my whites in the washer

and i'm listening to the washer

going thru its final spin

and it's making these noises

as it spins and i feel the rhythm

of the noises and i find myself
moving with them and i'm dancing
around to the beat of the washer

lost in the sounds of this metal box
with my darks inside shaking quietly

on the basement floor when my neighbor
walks in with a basket of dirty clothes

and i stop dancing and look at him and he
just stands there holding his

dirty clothes staring at me and the
washer clicks off and my

clothes slowly stop spinning
slowing until they are stopped

stuck up against the insides of the machine

i walk out of the laundry room

out of the basement and out of the
apartment building into the street
moving slowly away from my neighbor

away from my darks and away from my whites.