I’d cleaned this house a million times before,
In haste.

I’d cleaned this house from top to bottom,
Everything in place.

Dusted, scrubbed, vacuumed, disinfected,
I felt protected.

Polished, organized, purged, cleansed
I felt perfected.

My God, right here in plain sight?
How did it get there!

Smaller than a granule of moon dust, it caught the light,
It just set there!

Me.

Little me.

So little.

I swept it into the dustpan quickly,
Poor thing looked so sickly.

Tiny mollusk of a thing.

Spring cleaning, dear.

ABOUT DENISE STOUGHTON INSPIRED by globe-trotting, day tripping, found objects and high fashion, Denise has been designing home decor for two decades. Originally from the island of Manhattan, she traded concrete and glass skyscrapers for skyscrapers of the deciduous and coniferous variety and now lives happily on Bainbridge Island with her Chihuahua, Tula. Interior Design has and always will be her first love. She studied (and later, taught) at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. Denise writes a blog for Mercury Michael and is also a member of AHB’s Public Art Committee – placing public art in public spaces.

OTHER CURRENTS ONLINE ARTICLE BY DENISE: Denise’s Favorite Virtual Gallery Tour: The National Cowboy Western & Heritage Museum