Love Poem for
a Washing Machine

The boy at school loves washing machines.
'I'm seventeen,' he says to himself.
He churns his way around the room, chanting
'Let's get some agitator action in here.'
The younger kids don't know what faces to pull.
They have never met a man
in love with a machine like that.
Sometimes they say 'Come over here.'
Sometimes they say 'Go away,'
and screw up in laughter when he is gone.