[Yes, downstairs neighbour, I’m hoovering at ten-o-clock at night]

By Ella Cunningham

and yes, this is a fish finger sandwich
but the fact I opened the freezer and put the oven on makes it a win
and yes I’ve been catching up on three days’ worth of calories
and group chat messages and now housework
and yes Netflix I’m watching Gilmore Girls again
oh look it’s the one where I roll out of bed at one-thirty pm
and into work at two and wash the same lady’s back three days in a row
and they love talking about weather so I say it’s definitely autumn now
and they all nod but it’s rewarding work and it’s a learning curve
keeping twenty-five elderly people mentally and physically well
as they watch TV all day but as I said it’s rewarding
and I’m here in this random pick-off-the-map county that could be anywhere
and it’s a really nice place to live with its ring road and its green belt that I know
everyone’s dying to keep because I’ve seen the posters on the lampposts,
maybe now I’ve finished this episode I’ll care more about the green belt
listen, I know the hoover makes a racket but forgive me,
I’ve only just seen the state of the carpet

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Ella Cunningham (she/her) is a queer poet from Chester, UK. Her work has featured in Bath Magg, Porridge, Stone of Madness, and Poetry Bus, and she was longlisted for the 2021 Plough Prize. She currently lives in South East London and works for a care charity. Twitter: @EllaMadalene