The laundry woman
weaves heavy footed
down rows of tables
and stacks of plastic baskets
singing a silent litany
to the many colored clothes.
The washing machines
randomly buzzing
stopping, starting:
Whir! Spin!
That one on the end
momentarily pausing
hesitating under the weight
of sheets and such.
The smell of bleach clean exhilaration
permeates the laundry
the laundry lady
steps with her aching feet
in the laundry’s heavy heat.
Rows of dryers lined up
like a file of
rounded, metal soldiers
glass faced robots
in a sweltering toss battle
ignoring the cries of humanity.
A couple of little kids
sling their unattended moments
hiding in between tables
scratched, initialed slates,
watching the laundry woman
scrub stains with harmony
washing them away
in that strong, metal sink.
The Maytag Queen missing
the hurdy gurdy man
in floral fabric softener dreams
left with only the flies buzzing
the fine fabric scrubbing.
The seasons pass
but there is always
the laundry of others
needing to be cleansed
in the long hours
and the hum of automation
day upon day
carving out
her small, clean existence.
An endless task. There’s always guitar picks in the bottom of my dryer.
Laundry is always at the bottom of my list, but since College Boy grew up, it has gotten a bit better 🙂
Great write!
Loved this, I know this lady! 🙂
Thank you. Yes , I think some of us might know her. It is interesting sometimes to look through the eyes of others.
Excellent! I could smell the warm, almost tangible laundromat aroma and hear the spinning and tumbling clothes in the driers. Well done.
Thank you for the gracious comments, so glad you enjoyed it!
Love the new setup of your site! The flower is gorgeous. If you could increase the size of the font and make it bold, it would be easier to read all the wonderful creative things that you do. Hope you don’t mind me suggesting this. You know how much I love your site!
Thanks Deborah. I have actually been trying to do just that, but I don’t see an option to change that text so I’m going to try to type it in my word processing program in another font and see if it will let me paste. The cool thing about the photo header is that it randomly cycles my photos, an option that I really like!
Oh, I didn’t notice that. I’ll go take another look. On another picture, it will look totally different. The meaning of the words is what’s important.
That photo text is still on my to do list, ha ha 😀
Writers just need to accept … we can never sleep!
Getting to sleep is sometimes crazy..all those racing thoughts, a few that are good but I don’t write them down, then they are lost…
Yeah…ode to the laundry lady! This is great!
Thanks Annika, she has a tough job for sure 🙂
A fine description
Thanks so much, I appreciate your comments!
Nice little cameo!
Thanks for the gracious comment!
i also enjoy the many sensory details. the poem captures the busy atmosphere of a laundry. i’m not sure why the lady’s existence is “small.”
The small is used to describe her hard work, low pay, and being a somewhat “invisible” member of the working class. Many folks like to turn their heads and ignore how hard people work just to make a meager living….
yes, that is certainly true. we so often take for granted the hard work of these folks. i appreciate your reply!
Sure thing, have a great day and a wonderful week!
Reblogged this on Ancien Hippie.
Beautifully expressed and they are the people whom we should all appreciate. Thank you 🙂
Thank you for the gracious compliment. There are many “invisible” people who work hard every day. Thanks for visiting and following my blog.