/ footnotes, annotations, deliberations
all drains sealed (sometimes concealed)
1 :: Sun, Bathing Beats, & Extended Heats
Tweezers in hand, he plucks her hair – long gray curls, strand by strand, from the upstairs drain while Dylan streams in his ears (on volume 10). When the extended task is finally complete (both the clawfoot tub and his hearing are in decline and disrepair), he reapplies a rubber seal.
2 :: Stars, Clawfoot Tubs, & Fortune Tellers
Tweezers in hand, she plucks his hair – long gray curls, strand by strand, from the upstairs drain (fully clogged, a hard-stop wad of Bazooka gum that had earlier disappeared) while Dylan streams in her ears (on volume 10). When the extended task is complete (both the clawfoot tub and her hearing are in decline and disrepair), she reapplies a rubber seal.
3 :: Soil, Time-Lapsed Toils & Tempers on Boil
Boots (leather) and laces (fully tied) bake and toil as hands wrinkle then blend with earth and soil. Footnotes filed. Housed in rudimentary, confined spaces and 24/7 caretaking places. Series of soft cries reminiscent of lullabies. Annotations added – it’s been a while. Meds and modes. Records and RPMs. Gold bands clank then tango. The air a blend of Dylan, flies that buzz, and crickets that chirp. Prepositions tangle with propositions. Limbs and language hurt. Haunts hamper. Hues blend with water. Hummingbirds and halting words. Goodbyes. Whispers. Dreams on (and of) uphill climbs. Reunions with rains. On the radio, Dylan sings of time. Always changing. Answers fleeting. Winds on instant replay. Lifelines linger (all rooms fully wired). Fashion fuse. Fantasies (and realities) float. Away. On the wings of butterflies.
4 :: Processes (Hand-Picked), Periods, and Postscripts
Tweezers. Seals. Boots. Butterflies. Memories linger in moments.
Pockets of air and heirs. Of order and orderlies. Neither tuned
nor tiled in small spaces. Scenic and styled. Between here and there.
Then and now. Her and him. They and them. Pronouns and Propositions.
Prepositions and Enunciations. Words and wonderment. Selection both
natural and sustained. Use and reuse. Push and Pull. Motors heat. Engines cool.
Ordinary objects. Extraordinary lives. Butterflies. Boots. Seals. Tweezers.
Notes: Tweezers and Seals. Mix. Toss. Replay. Boots and Butterflies. Hand-picked. Under-baked. This process both highly unique (to me) and an unexpectedly fun (times two) take (also break).
Jen Schneider is an educator who lives, writes, and works in small spaces throughout Pennsylvania. Recent works include A Collection of Recollections, Invisible Ink, On Habits & Habitats, and Blindfolds, Bruises, and Breakups.