Objectify

Objectify

Crafts, cobbled-together
popsicle sticks and string,

googly-eyed pine cones,
glob of glue for optic nerve,

sequins and macaroni
and buttons. Anything with

an opening can be knotted
together, hung around

the neck of a person
that we love, the wreath

we wrap around a horse’s
shoulders for winning.

We fashion these objects
in homage to the things

that fill up the world.
The less obvious things,

the beings that stand still
or hide so we can use them

and forget their strangeness:
a table, a purse, one shoe,

two. A window, a hole
punched through the wall

and the glass sitting in it,
how it moves up and down

to let in air, light. The three
steps leading to the house,

and the small hand rail
to the left, yes, just where

your hand rests as you
raise your foot. We have

not made these objects
that we have. They came

to us because we selected
them. We needed them

to do something for us,
to answer the deficiency

that keeps presenting
itself within us.