Kay Ryan




That Will to Divest

Action creates
a taste
for itself.
Meaning: once
you've swept 
the shelves
of spoons 
and plates
you kept
for guests,
it gets harder
not to also 
simplify the larder,
not to dismiss 
rooms, not to 
divest yourself
of all the chairs
but one, not
to test what
singleness can bear,
once you've begun.