April 6

National Poetry Month’s Poem-A-Day 30-Day Challenge: Day 6


GLOVE COMPARTMENT


I once used a common fork as a comb,

a book as a hot pad, a chair for a ladder,

my pants for a napkin, a wide plastic bin lid

as a makeshift umbrella, sweetened a rat trap

with a glob of Nutella, my coat as a pillow,

a tarp for a raincoat, a knife from my kitchen

drawer to tighten a screw.

Over and over the saying proves true:

necessity is the mother of invention,

as we use something in a way meant for another:

cotton swabs for ear plugs, newspaper for killing bugs,

the little compartment beside the front console

that’s crammed with a whole lot of everything but gloves.