Grace Metalious' Dirty Dishes

By Rhea Côté Robbins

 I am graced by a single moment.  A clean block of happening, an expression of the ordinary around me.  A clear moment or thought.  A clean kitchen, pots on to boil; a sense of purpose, the clarity of a moment.  Instead, by the action of others I am caught in the middle, used badly or abused in the crush.  I have only to drink a cup of wine and amuse myself with relishing the pressure points of conflict.  It is all that is left to the transaction.  On the side I remember and it plays in my mind over and over how the author was known for her dirty dishes.  It makes me want to break every dish in the clean kitchen which is usually a virtual, pride-inducing pig pen--floors, dishes, counters, everywhere.