the blue mug

written by evan young

the cabinet doors hanging low again like its got a personal problem with me i got one screw stripped, one in my mouth and a phillips head that was literally right fucking here your diet cokes making a wet ring on top of a stack of unopened mail lunas in the other room explaining something urgent to a dog that cannot spell i say this particleboards got it out for me you dont even look up from your phone you say, ev, the little screws are in the coffee mug and i grab the blue one, no pause

the blue mug by the sink behind the chipped red bowl the little screws are in the blue mug i know without being told the blue mug by the sink with the crack along the side i got one between my teeth and one stuck to the bottom of my sock

theres one clean fork and everybody hates it bent at the neck, tastes like the drawer my d string snapped three days ago and the guitars been staring at me from the floor somebodys got the tv up too loud somebody else is yelling, wheres my charger i answer, top junk drawer, under the batteries before i turn around or think harder the hinge catches once, then slips again i call it a traitor, which feels fair you laugh like youve heard me threaten furniture and keep scrolling with your feet tucked under you there

the blue mug by the sink behind the chipped red bowl the little screws are in the blue mug i know without being told the blue mug by the sink with the crack along the side i got one between my teeth and one stuck to the bottom of my sock

then it catches. the door shuts straight. you say, there. from the other room: ev, where are the scissors second drawer. left side. i stand there holding nothing. i know where everything is.

the blue mug by the sink behind the chipped red bowl the little screws are in the blue mug i know without being told the blue mug by the sink with the crack along the side the cabinet shuts. the room keeps going. i leave the screwdriver where it lives

blue mug by the sink chipped red bowl one fork nobody wants and the door shuts slow