Refurbished

Just because something has stopped
working doesn’t mean you have to go
and get a brand new replacement.
There are places that can still do

repairs; or take in a hem, fit a new
filter into the grid. Would you throw out
the floor for getting dusty, or a chamber
pot for serving its use? And how would we

banish air filled with dank exhalations,
water mixed with mud and silt? No matter
how many times the machine is dinged
and dented, still there are a hundred

parts that couple and fall again to use.
Here’s an envelope full of rusted screws,
another of coins, spare buttons, and keys—
Once they figured out blouses, luggage,

large armoires. Once they fit securely, eye
to hook. An instrument missing a string
opened its mouth wider, surprising
itself with the new sound it made.