Desesperanza: In Despair for the World

     My husband asks me
why I’m always fixing the pillows
straightening the drapes

     And I answer
that I do these things
to put away despair for the world

     My husband studies the sight
of my particular hands
fussing with the corners of the room

     A rotten melon appears at every meal
it hides underneath the napkins
and my children ask, What is that bad smell

     I abandon the table at breakfast
to wash a cup, to replace
the soap in its dish

       I explain the stink is a civilized flower
then my husband laughs
as I pick lint off the rug

       I reassure the furniture
piling pieces of lint
in my basket

       I count the pieces carefully
one for every thousand
every million

     The sun shines through the polished windows
see, I say to my children, The sky is beautiful
see, I say, The stars are falling

 — Summer Brenner