Spring-cleaning is under way.

When morning clouds scuttle away
I shake the blanket of sleep from my head
And step into the warm mist of the shower.
I dress in fleecy clothes of cloudlike softness,
And my hair, wispy now, floats like cirrus clouds
Around my sunny smile.
Cumulus clouds of cotton wool add moisturizer, gently, to my ageing face
And a delicate cloud of powder colours its fragile whiteness.

Then, having aired my bed
I toss the duvet and watch it settle
Into its plump altocumulus mounds and hollows
So soft and inviting, a cloudy marshmallow of comfort.
The temptation to sink back into my winter cocoon
Is fogging my brain…
But no, I must seize the day
Spring-cleaning is underway.

Clouds of dust slink in every room
Stratus-like, they spread greyness
As I disturb the winter slumber of books and cupboards
Tired cushions and fading curtains.
I wipe a nimbostratus cloud from dull mirrors
And the washing machine with its towering load,
Begins its low thunderous rumble
As it spews winter from my home.

Out in the garden the thunder rumble turns into the cracking of cottons
Flashing and snapping on the line in the whirl of a gusty breeze.
The sky a clear cloudless blue,
For aren’t all the clouds in my house?
The windows shine as I wipe away their grey winter haze
And the sun gleams into all the rooms
As my cloud world dissolves
And spring steps in.

©Jacqueline Mai May 2007