Handy Man - by Barton Sutter

I can’t resist reposting this from Writer’s Almanac. Sounds so much like life.

Handyman
by Barton Sutter

The morning brought such a lashing rain
I decided I might as well stay inside
And tackle those jobs that had multiplied
Like an old man’s minor aches and pains.
I found a screw for the striker plate,
Tightened the handle on the bathroom door,
Cleared the drain in the basement floor,
And straightened the hinge for the backyard gate.
Each task had been a nagging distraction,
An itch in the mind, a dangling thread;
Knocking a tiny brass brad on the head,
I felt an insane sense of satisfaction.
Then I heard a great crash in the yard.
The maple had fallen and smashed our car.

"Handyman" by Barton Sutter from Farewell to the Starlight in Whiskey. © BOA Editions, 2004.