Quiet House

A third of all Americans and
ten times more than halfway 'cross the world
in India, the single person household.
What is to me a rarity, a luxury,
a state of mind I either have to leave
to find and purchase cheaply to maintain
my mental equilibrium or this,
surprising morning when the schedules
of a busy household work together to align
the planets and I waken in a quiet house,
no bustling in the kitchen, coffee
maker perking a hello when once I prime
it. I don't putter, otherwise, in bedclothes,
unkempt hair, no contacts so that everything
is blurry, edges softer, no harsh words to cut
me as I go about my business, and
nobody's business but my own. It does not
last, nor would I want it to, but neither
do I mind it when it happens, an unexpected
gift: a reminder of what many people
live with, loathing it or loving, every day.


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014