Essays on Idleness

Animal IdlenessThe cat's jaw breaks awake inside this house dark with humidity.

Anxious IdlenessThose birds always sound so beautifully useless.

Audible IdlenessMorning wanes when the first word emerges.

Autumn IdlenessA sudden flood of thunder, or a squirrel runs across the metal roof.

Barney IdlenessSinging with his soft, purple mouth, What would I do / without my teeth, I wonder what he would do.

Cheese-Grater IdlenessI should look at you before I look through you.

Choking-Hazard IdlenessMust bite into my food to taste it.

College IdlenessI'm still trying to make this window a calm, cloudy square.

Conversational Idleness"I can't remember what I'm saying," you say.

Culinary IdlenessWhenever the microwave's rotating tray derails, it feels like my life's approaching its abrupt end.

Decorative IdlenessA quilt can be hung on any wall, like this.

Definitive IdlenessThe grayer the sky, the greener the tree, the greener the tree, the grayer the sky.

Domestic IdlenessMy cat looks up at me like she doesn't know what a poem is.

Evidential IdlenessIllustration: I walk to the stairs so I can walk on them.

Excited IdlenessInfomercial: only ten minutes left.

Fabled IdlenessThe moral, of course, is a horse at the pet store.

Hospital IdlenessShe slowly tried the stairs that tried to slow her.

Hotel IdlenessWhile I read the plum-colored curtains' folds, the parking lot fills with rhetoric.

Ideological IdlenessThis is a drawing to prove that clouds still exist.

Ill-Advised IdlenessUnder the obvious weather, obviously under the weather, under the oblivious weather, obliviously under the weather.

Insomniac IdlenessLately I've been watching a single ant's speck crawl outlines on the wall, lit by the room's only lamp.

Interrupted IdlenessI trust the mail will soon appear in my mailbox, so I listen.

Kitchen IdlenessA thin sheet of Brussels sprouts' leaves lying left over in the sink.

Layered IdlenessA mind to thank the mind that thinks to thank the word for a word we do not see.

Lucky IdlenessFor example, earlier this evening, when the phone rang, I just let it ring.

Morning IdlenessSprinkling oats over my yogurt, I hope this one life stays about average.

Observational IdlenessThe land moves under the weather and the weather moves over the land.

One-Way IdlenessI spoke with him the other day, by which I mean he spoke to me.

Parental IdlenessThe black plum we pass between us, spilled juice the grass gladly absorbs.

Parental Idleness (2)We killed the morning watching cat videos.

Pastoral IdlenessThe field a field I'm standing in.

Patio IdlenessThe dog pisses into Buddha's open palm.

Permanent IdlenessIf you prefer, pretend this isn't happening.

Radio IdlenessThis is your island of sanity. (Thanks for listening.)

Reflective IdlenessI say my name into a mirror, watching myself watch myself.

Remembered IdlenessI reach for the pencil behind my ear, but it's not there.

River IdlenessThe field stretches like an endless trampoline.