The idle thoughts of the house
coalesce each week along
the baseboards, expressing
themselves in subtle collections
of lint and dust and mammal hair
according to the prevailing 
currents of the HVAC. If left
unswept they would quickly
become small herds of indoor
tumbleweeds.

After many years of living
here I have observed them
gathering in the exact same
locations for what I assume
 are the exact same reasons.

Which is, of course, like all
the other things in my life
that require repeated
and regular attention
until, one by one,
they no longer matter.