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Cleaning Up

Needle-nose pliers, the soft ticking of an antique clock, new underwear

A brilliant, shimmering, whirling ring of light; time with loved ones; soft words of encouragement

Getting divorced, riding a bike, getting Alzheimer’s

Drinking hallucinogenic tea, kneeling on peppercorns on the cellar floor, visiting in Beirut as shells shrieked around the city

Serial killer Richard Speck, a free spot-weld, an Oreo cookie

A contemplative hermit, a single filet, Bartola

A father’s shoes, a forgotten padlock, the surest method

Mr. Bicycle Man, sleeveless clothes, a little velvet bluebird

A “gandy dancer,” a shoe-repair store, an annual slide show

Sister Mary Joseph, an ax and a prized peach tree, a fabric highway

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