they granted us a broom
and a brush
no dustpan
out into the corridor then,
a dead otter of dust
shish nyish chishichnyi chish nyishch!
the cleaning lady shnyiches
but what can I do?
no dustpan
here comes the Ukrainian boy
what’s that in his hand?
God be praised,
it’s a dustpan
into the corner of the kitchen then,
a molehill of dust
the days pass
a cowpat of dust
a glance in the cupboard
no dustpan
Misha, do you have one of these?
brush in hand
miming mimed dust
into a mimed dustpan
oh yes, yes, of course!
index finger at cupboard,
could you leave it there, please?
away goes the dust
a glance in the cupboard
no dustpan
new cowpat of dust
the days pass
bird’s nest of dust
the days pass
a glance in the cupboard
no dustpan
right, that’s it
toenail clippings
dead foot-skin
half my pubes
into the dust
he sweeps it all up
a glance in the cupboard
no dustpan
is it made of gold?
is it encrusted with diamonds?
does he kiss it tenderly
and call it Dusty?
oh darling Dusty,
I only want to be with you
no other man will ever touch you
or even look at you
is this what they call a pansexual?
stupid little prick,
just give me the fucking dustpan
that’s it, I’m moving out
can’t stand this utter spaz
any longer
there’s a Turkish moustache of dust
he sweeps it in front of my door
I sweep it back
he sweeps it in front of my door again
a glance in the cupboard
no dustpan
suitcases packed
fridge emptied
notice given
bags out in the corridor
every last particle of dust
a swamp of dust
in front of his door
plus a couple of used teabags
every last hair off my arse
an old sock recently wanked in
and a note in Ukrainian, saying
“imbecile”
