The rain outside sings a duet
with the clothes dryer in the other room,
sounds of wetness and of drying
sharing certain similarities,
ticks that are not quite rhythmic,
a repetition of random

Our orbits in the house
intersect sometimes
but mostly we are silent
in our own pursuits,
winding down the evening,
shoring ourselves up
against unraveling.

©Wendy Mulhern
January 27, 2020