Ode to Slugs and Song

To kill time

I climb into the sink
and creep with slugs,
admiring their aptitude
for space and gravity.

But the silence is offensive.
I want hammers!
I want anvils!
I want stirrups and strings!

I’m not too light to press piano keys;
I swell and turn the faucet on.
I will not do the dishes in the dark—

slug
gulls
lugs
slugs
gluss
lugs
slug,
the
pipe
rum-
bles
like
a
bull-
frog.