Monday, February 13, 2012

Garbage Bags, or, Next Time Find a Kinder Container

Garbage bags. Presented to me in person or dropped at my door, they contain a number of small personal items. A toothbrush, a travel-sized hairdryer, a pair of socks, maybe a paperback or a magazine. Traces of my presence, packaged like banana peels and used q-tips. Their meaning clear, the energy that created them as cold as the wind that blows in my face, when I open the door to discover them, or drag them downstairs to my car.


They succeed in transferring my old friend's anger and pain, and they sit on my kitchen floor like lumpy misshapen amends that I now owe. After a while, I cut them free from their plastic tomb, and warm them with the reassurance of home. I want to be indignant, but I accept my role. I find comfort in being home and warm. And I look for the lesson, as icicles shrink.

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