Mildew Hands

My hands have an awful smell, like clothes left in the washing machine overnight. And my soul feels sour. What is it that causes such a stink in your invisible organs? When your heart feels so dull it hurts and your mouth curls in a scowl and you feel like if there was an open grave somewhere you might take a nap.

And you see life and lovely people all around you but you feel yourself to be vapid with noxious gas.

This overtakes me some days, like mildewed hands.

And then I find myself unloading the dishes and putting away the pots. I see the bright green leaves of a cloudy day and I feel something free inside. I feel some energy in my stomach pit and my limbs move like they haven’t all day.

Why such menial tasks could lift up a soul, I’ll never know.

But they do. Sometimes.