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Waiting for news from the hospital
she is on her knees
scrubbing the kitchen tiles
square by grey square.
The dark lines of grout
meet at right angles.
She erases
a splatter of tomato sauce,
a dusting of flour,
a smear of mud,
scours
until the floor is so clean
she wants to lie down,
cheek to the cool tile,
and breathe
the faint lemon smell.
She wipes her forehead,
stands up and paces
the empty house
looking for something
else to clean.
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About the Author: Agnes Vojta grew up in Germany and now lives in Rolla, Missouri where she teaches physics at Missouri S&T and hikes the Ozarks. She is the author of Porous Land (Spartan Press, 2019) and The Eden of Perhaps (Spartan Press, 2020), and her poems have appeared in a variety of magazines.
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More By Agnes Vojta:
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Image Credit: Chase Dimock “Tiled Corner” (2021)
As It Ought To Be 