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William Doreski lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He has published three critical studies. His poetry has appeared in many journals. He has taught writing and literature at Emerson, Goddard, Boston University, and Keene State College. His new poetry collection is A Black River, A Dark Fall (Splash of Red, 2018).

Drip Drip Drip

William Doreski

This morning the plumbing sighs

that impatient sigh that suggests

how the world’s water supply

has tired of servicing humans.

The hot water faucet dripping

in the bathtub angers you

with a waste of the resources

on which our retirement relies.

I’m too gnarled to turn a wrench

the way a wrench wants to turn.

Too rusty to handle small parts

like plastic washers and O-rings.

Too intemperate to sweat-solder

the copper piping we reclaimed

from the landfill. Blue jays creak

in the yard. Their harsh noises

sound far more fatal than plumbing,

but they aren’t serious enough

to follow up on their threats.

You’re tired of smutting curses

over every naked surface

and taking the shine off objects

that were new in our lifetimes.

You dislike the washer, dryer,

refrigerator, toaster, and range

but have tired of saying so.

Only the microwave oven

escapes your sultry expression.

But you hone your most poignant

silence to scrape the plumbing clean

of the foulest words. Maybe thus

unburdened, the faucet will heal

and we’ll save the plumber’s fee.

Then the water of the world,

pumped from our modest well,

will restrain itself from unholy

baptisms of the psychic void.

— William Doreski

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