CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Staring into

the jumbled mess

and with nothing 

more than 

a modicum 

of patience 

and an eye 

for detail, I begin 

unraveling

untangling 

the balled-up 

strand from itself

unwinding 

the knotted 

wire and plastic 

spreading 

and spacing

the bulbs out 

one after another

across the hardwood 

floor, arranging 

them into 

a long kinky line

that flickers from

its many points of light.

Completing this 

menial task feels like 

such a grand triumph

like freeing a soul  

from its tethers.