CONCENTRIC CIRCLES

I’ve been studying the difference 

between mundane and meaningful,

checking chores off my weekly checklist.

I push the vacuum across the carpet,

forming concentric circles

around the coffee table,

like a Zamboni resurfacing the ice

before the Stanley Cup final.

My colleague and fellow slicer challenged me to craft a response poem to “White Towels” by Richard Jones

WHITE TOWELS

I have been studying the difference

between solitude and loneliness,

telling the story of my life

to the clean white towels taken warm from the dryer.

I carry them through the house

as thought they were my children

asleep in my arms.