The Basement of Desire

Love the energy and momentum of this.

My god. It is so true.

Enjoyed this in OR, and here. Your writing always finds the right music for the lines -

"leftover shims
insulation kits
cans of mineral spirits
screen door hardware
drawers of squeeze nozzles
noxious solvents"

Really connect with how the piece moves in such a universal sweep toward "mind". Nice poem, Bill. *

You've been in my garage--and the rest of it, too. *

The list, along with bureaucracy, is a hallmark of civilization. This is an exceptional list.

We are what we accumulate--or vice versa.

Thanks, Sally, Steven, Sam, Gary P, Gary H, and David! I'm grateful for your reading and kind comments.

It's a chilling thought. *

Chilling, like John said, and life-giving. Fave!

"...the whole haberdashery of plastic pieces
sheathing connectors and containers..."

This part.*

Don't throw it out. You might find a use for it one day. *

I felt more and more involved with this poem with each line I read. Well done!

Thank you, John, Mia, Joani, Jake, and Paul! Happy this resonates with so many of you!

So true, Bill. *

I love the way you ended this amazing list. fav*

Thank you for commenting, Tina and Gloria!

When a poem gives off a distinctive odor as I read along, I know it's a keeper. This is fine work. Grease, steel dust, oily rags, rusty calipers: the list generates other lists. Recursive, indeed. The tools here -- the words themselves -- are skillfully handled in the creation of that one final syllable: mind. Congrats! *

Evoked a lot of self-examination. Very true, very real. I like how easy it to relate to this piece. *

F---k yea!!! I felt this in my bones man. So good it hurts! Well done. Beautiful!*

Marvelous. I sometimes take out a recorder and speak my mind just so and when I do it and transcribe it I later find similar lists but the miracle of this poem is, of course, how you pull it all together at the end.

Thanks, Willie, Foster, J, and Marcus--great comments all!

My favorite,
...bladeless hacksaws
rusted caulk guns
bent nails
blunt screws
broken hammers
brittle gaskets...

Just fantastic.

A cataclysm, a swivel. All praise due, delivered. Orchiectomy, Orchestra, root cellar. Would the men and why-would-the-women thinking of Orch pirate the $45 M, misteer the renovation, the lobby, dismiss the musicians? *

Thank you, Brenda and Ann!

In my case it is a utility closet, but still the meaning is clear. We are all guilty of collecting and it does represent so much of who we are, where we've been, and where we are going. The pacing is perfect and as a whole it flows so perfectly that when you get to the end it brings it all home.

Thanks, Anson!