A girlfriend came in
built me a bed
scrubbed and waxed the kitchen floor
scrubbed the walls
vacuumed, cleaned the toilet,
the bathtub,
scrubbed the bathroom floor
and cut my toenails and my hair.
Then all on the same day
the plumber came and fixed the kitchen faucet
and the toilet
and the gas man fixed the heater
and the phone man fixed the phone.
Now I sit in all this perfection.
It is quiet.
I have broken off with all 3 of my girlfriends.
I felt better when everything was in disorder.
It will take me some months to get back to normal:
I can’t even find a roach to commune with.
I have lost my rythm.
I can’t sleep.
I can’t eat.
I have been robbed of my filth.
Photo of C. Bukowski:
This is exactly how I felt as a kid when my mom cleaned my room while I wasn’t there.