August 8, 2023

(dis)organizing principles

Mornings, the bathroom counter appears as a filmy tableau.
I put my contacts in and consider which quadrant to neaten first, and whether 
the moisturizers—gone untouched since their first exuberant applications—
should be moved to the cabinet below or given away to someone who might 
actually use them. All the rooms of the house are replete with a similar seesaw 
of invitations: keep or release? The truth is, I could live with so much less, 
yet the surfaces are populous with objects of indeterminate purpose. Still, 
I wonder who I’d be, absent of this penchant fastened less on need than the joy 
of assembly, however it fumbles for order. Meanwhile, my body sloughs off 
and replicates cells in uneven clockwork, keeping its grand plans to itself.

Maya SteinComment