I'd say it's because I've been busy
And I have been--
Busy ignoring your ghost and holding it in.

I'd say it's because I haven't had time
But the truth is that those sheets lay there
Because I didn't want to wash away your dreams
And your gentle restful things.

Because once I do, it'll be gone
To me, never again, will it belong.

But today, I finally piled it up
And dumped it in the bag
And dragged it down the hallway
And loaded it into the machine
And put soap into the tray
And washed away the dream.

And I realized as I took them out--
The shirts, the sheets, the sobbing--
That I know it will all be okay
(though it's so, so silly to say)
Because though I may have washed you away,
I am all here to stay
And I, on my own, am a person.