The Load

I forgot the laundry in the wash.

I heard the heavy, sodden slosh

when I lifted up the metal lid

to see the mess of what I did.

I pulled a towel from the heap,

a weight that made my muscles leap.

It’s cold and grey and twice as heavy

as any water at the levee.

It dripped onto my naked feet,

a rhythmic and a freezing beat.

I stood there in the basement dim

and felt the water reach the rim.