Deep In Need

When you grab the flashlight from that kitchen drawer, the one that
won’t close right for being filled with lost causes,
and the flashlight just don’t feel right. It’s missing

something. It ain’t gonna light, you know that.
So you unscrew the top and then halfway
through that you know you’re doing it wrong but it’s

too late and the slippery plastic top spins off. Then the clear but
scratched circle window flops out and just when you
think “Oh don’t spit out!” that stupid little light bulb

spits out. “Damn batteries go in the bottom not the top.” But now
you gotta find that bulb and if it busted “I’m
sure gon’ be pissed” cuz you know there’s none of them

around. And right before you barefoot-smash it you see
it peeking from under that part of the fridge you really
didn’t want to look at cuz “Remind me to grab that pickle” from last week.

But you grab it – bulb not pickle – and it ain’t broke and it
goes right in, to shine through that scratched circle window. And you swear
you’ll remember the batteries go at the butt end but first you gotta

do that end, open it of course. And you’re thinkin’ “is it Cs or Ds or a
whole bunch of AAs and I hope it ain’t Cs” while you twist it apart. It felt
funny like you knew ‘cuz it was empty, is empty, like

really empty, and deep. Those batteries fill it up and light
it up and it’s a drawer-filling lost cause without ‘em. Like the clip with
no papers and the superglue with no cap and

It must mean “Alone I’m a nail-less picture hanger, and I need her
even more, much more” than I need a couple Ds to light this light. And
you remind yourself to tell her that next time you see her.