Stuffed

I gathered up grocery store bags, now empty…

opening, folding, smoothing them out

…can I squeeze in one more?

How did I get all these paper bags?

I feel insatiable —

I need tangerines, ravioli, tofu, steak tips,

salad, salad, salad —

shots of cheap bourbon

And the house!

Stuffed with curtailment and rage

Oh that some new thing could be born within its stresses!

Otherwise its joists may sunder — erupt — tumble

upon the neighbors’ petunias

This poem was published in an Essential anthology.

Andy Oram
April 26, 2020