Orange Stretch

The lamp in the corner

just would not reach.

So three cords connected,

a desperate speech.

Orange, then grey,

then a thin, brittle white.

A Frankenstein snake

against the dim light.

They clicked into place,

each plastic hard jaw.

Stiff, resistant,

ignoring all law.

It snaked through the carpet,

a bright, tripping line.

Doing its job,

a functional sign

of all the small ways

we try to extend,

what we have, what we need,

to make ends truly meet.