“Windex” by Danny Peart
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Windex” by Danny Peart, part of the League’s Fresh Voices program.
Windex
By Danny Peart
The smell of Windex – all it takes
to remind me of my father.
Also the music of Frank Sinatra,
toasted lettuce and tomato sandwiches,
his love of cars and trucks and tractors,
golf and baseball, but
today, Windex.
I was twelve when he showed me how
to properly clean windows.
A cool, spring day.
The windows of his shop on St. Paul Street
rectangular panes, two feet by four,
white wooden frames.
He gave me rags and a bottle of Windex,
telling me it would take elbow grease
to clear winter’s grime.
I’d use an extra shot to clear
the white spider nests in the corners.
My right arm, soon tired,
I’d switch to my awkward left.
The inside panes, then the outside panes,
fingers digging into the corners.
After an hour or two I would ask him
was the job good enough.
He’d reply, “If it’s perfect, it’s good enough.”
Perfect windows? I’d take
a clean rag and go over
the windows one more time,
just to be sure.
Copyright © Danny Peart
Danny Peart resides in Vancouver, BC. Supported by his wife Janette, two sons Max & Nick, and loyal dog Mila. Danny published his first collection of poems, Ruined by Love (2012). He published a collection of stories and poems titled Stark Naked in a Laundromat. Edited by Zsuzsi Gartner. (2016) and a collection of poems titled Another Mountain to Climb, edited by Aislinn Hunter. (2018) Danny was promoted to Ship’s Poet aboard the sailing ketch Seabird out of the Sunshine Coast’s port of Tillicum Bay. (2019) He published a collection of poems titled Not Quite So Handsome, edited by Rob Taylor. (2023) Danny is an Associate Member of the League of Canadian Poets. He was the Writer in Residence at the Wallace Stegner House in Eastend, Saskatchewan for February 2023.
Fresh Voices is a publication and workshop program created by and for the League’s associate members.
Subscribe to Poetry Pause, or support Poetry Pause with a donation today!