Poems from my Merriam-Webster Word of the Day project. For more information, look here.
wreak : BRING ABOUT, CAUSE
Oh let’s talk while we
wreak a little soapsuds clean
on the dinner plates
Dishes keep the secrets told
over the sink. I do too.
tanka 325 : 8/17/22
vociferous : marked by or given to vehement insistent outcry
in the dishwasher
vociferous silverware
hit tine and blade by
squadrons of jetted soapsuds
jangles an angry pushback
tanka 327 : 8/26/22
aftermath : the period immediately following a usually ruinous event
Those Sunday lunches
cyclic in their aftermath:
an exhausted cook
sink full of dirty dishes
nap after everyone leaves
tanka 429 : 5/11/23
Attributions:
“Wreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wreak. Accessed 17 Aug. 2022.
“Vociferous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vociferous. Accessed 26 Aug. 2022.
“Aftermath.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aftermath. Accessed 11 May. 2023.
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
So much drama in the aftermath of a meal. As a child, I always enjoyed having the chore of washing the dishes. The hot water and bubbles and the satisfaction of the squeaky clean results made it much more preferable to most other chores.
I felt the same way. I still like washing dishes, it always is relaxing, sort of like a bubble bath for the hands.
These soapy poems of dirty and clean dishes speak to the cement of daily life – the dried oatmeal and egg that holds us together!
Washing dishes is an activity that seems to invite personal talk, maybe it’s the nice feel of hot water and soapsuds, or the sort of rhythm you get into.