Made My Bed

I make my bed every morning

            After I discipline my body with 2 miles of exercise

            And after my husband rises.

A  habit cultivated, I cannot leave

            For the day until my bed is made.

Exhausted, I return to my bed

            & pull off the 12 year old blankets

Then straighten the wrinkles out of the sheets

            & pull their patterns flat.

Pick up the musty lavender velour, spread

            & pull its corners ‘til arranged

Letting its heavy sides cover the full bed

            & pull its sides until

                        Almost reaching the ground

                        Almost completely covering my bed frame.

And then the bedspread falls, arranging corners

            & pull down the sides until

Lilacs fall off my be, their flat patterns float

            & pull down & over.

I then gather the dark curtains that make my headboard

            & pull them back, morning light growing in them,

& then the pillows. I gather them

            & pull & plump & fluff then stand them

Arranging them until my bed looks

like a magazine cover

that would catch someone’s eye

at a newsstand until they reach over

            & pull it off the shelf to examine;

A flat picture that hints of rest & comfort

            & pulls you out of reality.

A habit cultivated, I cannot leave

            For the day until my bed is made.

Ariel

Oct 6, 2005

Lilac Spray by CC Willow