don’t forget the clutter budget
life is slapdash and loud
pans clatter and you cry at night
sometimes you want to scream
discordant songs are still music
entropy always bites back
smoothing skirts and countertops
will end in wrinkled skin
tears don’t help complexions
but crying can be cathartic
sing every song at once
smile when you can
let yourself be messy
no one’s ever really grown-up
it’s just a silly child’s world
built on legos and elmer’s glue
anyone who says differently is just
playing pretend at perfection
dance like you’re bad at it
but you still want to live
You had me with the fun play on words “clutter budget” and tune-fine-tight imagery like “smoothing skirts and countertops / will end in wrinkled skin.” This is the best advice ever: “sing every song at once” and “dance like you’re bad at it.” What a great imagination. Sentiment reminds me a bit of the song, Roger Ebert by Clem Snide – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ToUdq0v-tU. Very sweet, but also very sad. You’ve captured a similar tone here.