Thirteen Ways of Looking at Housecleaning

I
Among the twenty sleepy houses,
The only thing moving
Was the dust from the housecleaning.

II
I was of no mind,
Like a house
In need of housecleaning.

III
The Swiffer whispered on the bookshelves.
It was a comforting part of the housecleaning.

IV
A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and the housecleaning
Are not.

V
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of process
Or the beauty of perfection,
The housecleaning
Or just after.

VI
Cat hair swirled the linoleum
With clustered cobwebs.
The eddies of the housecleaning
Pushed it, here and there.

VII
Fuck the housecleaning.

VIII
Anger speaks best
Through the stiff bristles of a brush
In the porcelain tub
And the slow pull of shoulder muscles tired
After housecleaning.

IX
When the mop draws dirt from the floor
During housecleaning,
It lifts the edge of one
Of many layers.

X
Watching the early sunlight
Blow in under the plastic blind
Is something that must be done
Like the housecleaning.

XI
I worked over my apartment
With an ancient Hoover.
Once, a joy pierced me,
In that I mistook
The old hair smell of housecleaning
For happiness.

XII
Mold mouths the rims of the dishes in the sink.
I should do the housecleaning.

XIII
It was morning all afternoon.
I was sleeping
And going to sleep.
The housecleaning drowsed
In the living room closet.