There's nothing we can do
about the carpet
roves of straight lines turned
to furry clumps
cats scratching
and the dog's paws
we return from a trip
the bang of mold in the bedroom
clothes slowly rotting in wardrobes
clotted with tie-dye spores
and it’s freezing in the winter
so, we cover the carpet with rugs
and new fittings for the cupboards
small, round, ceramic
blue and white
a different pattern on each
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I leave them wrapped in brown paper
on the kitchen counter
the next afternoon
arrive home to new blue
paradise replacement
Julie Morrissy is the John Pollard Newman Fellow in Creativity at University College Dublin. Her collection Where, The Mile End (2019) is published by Book*Hug (Canada ) and tall-lighthouse (UK ).
