Deep Cleaning

by Rachel Barton


I drag the vacuum around the house
tracing the edges of stacks of boxes
edges of wall to floor
gathering a great volume of dog hair
which mashes so compactly into the canister
that it quits spinning.
We have been “camping” in our own house
for two months now as my husband makes repairs
and lays the new flooring in his office.
The guts of his many projects
once secreted away behind closed doors
have spilled into the communal living space—
extra chairs, printers, computer, file cabinets
bookshelves, and that plethora of items
uncategorized which litter every horizontal surface.
It is the holidays. The house is still upside down.
I confine myself to kitchen and studio, with time
out to watch news of another major clearing out—
new administration replacing the old.
It’s going to be a challenge, I can testify,
If this clear-out at home is any indication.


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Rachel Barton is a poet, editor, and writing coach. She edits her own online Willawaw Journal and is associate editor for Calyx and Cloudbank magazines. Her most recent work has been or will be published in Main Street Rag, Corvallis Poetry Anthology, and CIRQUE. For more Information: rachelbartonwriter.com