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in my hometown
the laundromat
doors are open at 3 in the afternoon
to catch whispers
of a triple-digit Ju-ly breeze.
the machines whir,
and there is country coming
through the overhead.
small talk is all in Spanish: que
calorcito, eh? black-
laced sweet nothings
of a frazzled mamá drip
from the handrail of one of those
little carts. the floor
is dirty, and the air
smells of bleach.
the coke machine doesn’t work,
but the dryers
are wonderfully efficient and she
feels more like mamacita
than she has in months, con-
siders bringing one
of those country songs
to life, stripping
down to her calzoncitos while
watching machines spin
sweat & loneliness from her thin bed-
room sheets.
the tenth muse 
Me gusta mucho esta poema. This is what I was trying to do (and failed) with my poem. Thanks, mamacita querida.
muchissimas gracias, mosk. 🙂
I love the imagery in this poem, the “black laced sweet nothings,” the final line about “sweat and loneliness.” There is an inherent sadness in a laudromat, a resignation to the mundane. I enjoyed hearing you read this the other night at River City Secrets!
thanks, Denise, for dropping by here and for coming out to hear the readings Fri. eve. Always great to see you!
Evocative verse… I’m not an experienced critic of poetry but this really got through, even to me. I’d like to thank Denise for bringing it to my attention.
Wow, thank you, Pat; it is always reassuring to know a piece found some resonance with its audience. You are welcome to drop by here anytime! (Oh, and thanks again to Denise for the shout-out that brought this to your attention!)
i feel like it just heard this….oh wait i did…smiles…as good as it is on paper, setting the scene and the mood…it was all the more in person…smiles.
Envious. 🙂
aren’t you out somewhere on the west coast, mosk? can’t we fly you in for a reading some time? let me just check our budget… 😉
You got the airfare, I’m there 😉 thanks!
aww, gracias, Brian. glad you could make it in to hear, and to share your own words. smiles.
I feel like I was there…good capture Joanna.
thanks, ayala 🙂
sweat & loneliness from her thin bed-
room sheets.
I could smell the bleach, but never felt clean. The last lines were my favorite! Loved it!!
Thanks for the visit, Shawn. 🙂 glad you enjoyed!
3 in the afternoon? Back in the day, needed the 24 hour one and even then hadda be there at 3 AM not PM
not that the doors were opened then, just that theywere open, doing less than nothing to help the ventilation 🙂 thanks for stopping by, Carl.
A laundromat is really a meeting place. A lot of talk, a lot of gossips. A media for exchange of ideas which may be healthy depending on the crowd. Great observation, joanna!
Hank